Why large-scale bioenergy is so damaging

On Thursday 13th September, Friends of the Earth Scotland & Biofuelwatch organised a discussion on Bioenergy in the Scottish Parliament, outlining the weaknesses of the current approach adopted by trans-nationals such as Eon (who run the large-scale biomass near in Lockerbie). Alison Johnstone (Green Party) MSP sponsored the event.

Three speakers made it abundantly clear that subsidy of large-scale biomass and biofuels by the Scottish Government cannot be counted as a green solution, and should not be classed as ‘renewable’ energy. Building infrastructure and dependence on large-scale biomass and biofuels is damaging and not a way forward to meet Scotland’s target to reduce greenhouse gasses  – with substantial impacts on environment and human rights impacts in UK and elsewhere. There will, however, be immediate financial profits to those companies who take advantage of governmental subsidy, using loopholes that it seems more than likely the Scottish Parliament’s new resolution will allow.

This message needs emphasising: Scotland can only produce a fraction of wood products needed for large-scale biomass developments. Large-scale biomass negatively distorts land-use in UK and elsewhere, and internationally will deprive communities  of forest resources for the long-term future.

Almuth Ernsting, Biofuelwatch Co-Director, made it clear that adequate regulatory systems that guarantee sustainability and social justice  are NOT in place, and thus are unable to guarantee that the biomass used meets sustainability criteria. Effectively the current regulatory systems that ‘promise’ sustainability amount to the wood industry’s self-regulation and she gave numerous examples of how certification processes for biomass products shipped in from abroad,  certified as ‘sustainable, had allowed landgrabbing, human rights abuses and major environmental damage . Biofuelwatch produce very thoroughly researched information – and will shortly be commenting on measures put through the Scottish Parliament, see http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/

Mark Haldane, Community Campaigner, Grangemouth Community Council, gave a local perspective on Biomass as renewable energy – living in the centre of Grangemouth, the prospect of a 110 metre chimney a mere 200 metres from his house galvanised community council action. Even at this height, the pollution impact would not be solved. Mark Haldane noted the lack of support available to community councils to take on well-funded transnationals (who hire the best lawyers), and made a plea for the Scottish Government to level the playing field.   Mark Haldane negotiated a Public Enquiry on plans for large-scale biomass plant in Grangemouth, and the final report is awaited.

Scale is a key concept. Local production and consumption of forest products on a small scale has much to offer. This is something that Scotland can take forward. But  feeding the proposed biomass power stations means consuming wood imported from elsewhere – including North America, Europe, Asia. This is a heavy industry,  oil-based, and depending on exploitation of soil, destroying forest structure and having a huge, often hidden, impact on local communities. The UK already exceeds its own forest footprint just in terms of paper use, while Scotland currently uses at least FIVE TIMES as much forest products as Scotland could possibly produce (it already has to import 4/5ths of the forest products it uses). Any development of industrial scale biomass energy will only add to that imbalance.

Time is a second issue. If you use wood for construction, the carbon is locked up. If it is burnt, it is released immediately, substantially adding to our carbon footprint in the short term, not reducing it. Trees take at least a generation to grow, and current industry plans are to replace bio-diverse old forests with biodiversity-poor mono-cultures that have  far less capacity for locking up carbon

Maggie Haggith, poet/activist gave an excellent presentation: ‘What and who will be squashed underfoot if we increase our forest footprint on the rest of the world?’ Maggie showed the power of reasoning both through knowledge and emotion, creating stories and examples making the issues accessible. Her poem Forest contained many memorable lines, including:

a bud -  becomes a soul, a whole, breathing planet.

Maggie Haggith scrutinised the language used – replanting? Replacing an ancient tree in old growth woodland with three tiny monocultured saplings? Industry-favoured alien species are quick-growing, but can have unintended consequences; for example, replacing native forests with thirsty eucalyptus in Indonesia has had extremely damaging impacts on local peatlands by drying them out, thereby increasing CO2 emissions. Unproductive wasteland? These can be weasel words for land-grabbing, and may involve evicting local people from ancestral lands. Forest products as low-carbon? About as good as an aeroplane!

This event equipped me to question both language and policy regarding the commodification of ‘forests’ – ‘forests’ are becoming a system of industrial scale wood production for short-term profit in distant places with little real regard to overall carbon emissions, sustainability or human rights