HEAT – Forest Defenders Alliance

The Nature Restoration Law is essential for the future of forests (and the planet)April 27, 2023
It’s not complicated, what we need to do for forests. But it won’t be simple either.
115 US and Canadian NGOs to EU: For how long will you keep destroying our forests for fuel?February 8, 2023
For how long will European leaders ignore the science of climate change and treat burning woody biomass as “zero-carbon,” renewable energy? For how long will you countenance the continued destruction of forests for fuel, rather than invest in true climate solutions?
Debunking the obviously misleading claims of the “Joint Letter on Bioenergy” signed by 10 member statesFebruary 8, 2023
Who would sign such a letter when it’s claims can so easily be disproven?
The so-called GHG criteria for biomass are an industry-written fraudFebruary 8, 2023
The wood pellet industry is already meeting the so-called “rigorous” standard that the RED would impose. The standards are meaningless.
An open letter on forest biomass from scientists and NGOs to policymakersFebruary 2, 2023
The future of Europe’s forests should not be decided by a Presidency that has been pushing for years to increase their exploitation – this is an explicit conflict of interest.
Global evidence that big trees are hugely important for mitigating climate changeJanuary 15, 2023
Logging big trees to replace them with younger, fast-growing trees is a fool’s errand when it comes to climate.
“Is total ecosystem obliteration bad for wildlife?” muse the ecosystem-destroyers (time to #DebunkTheJunk!)January 13, 2023
Today’s clearcutting is conducted with heavy equipment weighing 25 to 50 tons each, rolling on large tires that crush the land
Burning salvaged wood should not count as renewable energyDecember 7, 2022
Burning salvaged wood increases emissions compared to fossil fuels and can seriously degrade ecosystems.
Class action lawsuit alleges wood pellet maker Enviva is “engaged in textbook greenwashing”November 19, 2022
We’re shocked – shocked! – to hear of Enviva’s “reckless disregard for the truth”
Burning forest biomass undermines climate, health, and nature goalsNovember 18, 2022
Rarely do policymakers get an opportunity to do so much by *stopping* doing something.
Wood product manufacturers sound the alarm about burning wood for energyNovember 17, 2022
Representatives of wood-using industries are showing real fear about their ability to survive, and deep frustration that bioenergy is gobbling up resources and getting subsidised to do so.
It’s time to transfer billions in biomass subsidies to heat pumps and solarAugust 29, 2022
A single 50 MW biomass electricity plant burns as much wood per year as 180,000 homes – while raking in millions in subsidies that could be supporting truly clean energy
Forest fire CO2 emissions vs. biomass energy emissions – which is worse?August 23, 2022
What if we told you that the EU is paying people to burn wood that emits more CO2 than these catastrophic fires?
Hungary presents the worst example what might happen with our forests in EuropeAugust 11, 2022
A panicked reaction to the energy crisis means opening up protected areas to uncontrolled logging and rolling back protections.
Deforestation and forest degradation must both be stopped if we are to save natureJuly 25, 2022
The forest-based industry wants to water down critical EU legislation in order to continue degrading our forests
US climate and democracy skeptics want to dominate EU biomass policyJuly 20, 2022
The lobbying from the US-based tree-burning industry is relentless.
Parliamentary committee waves through loophole-ridden biomass provisions, setting up clash for PlenaryJuly 13, 2022
The gap between what the science shows is needed to save forests and the climate, and what is on the table, is still too wide.
More Logging, More Loopholes: EU Energy Ministers Water Down Proposed Reforms to Biomass Policy in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED)June 27, 2022
Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council Waves Through Biomass Subsidies, Continued Habitat Destruction
Sweden’s emissions shell-game will destroy more forestsJune 21, 2022
Do policymakers really believe that shuffling carbon allowances around and cutting more trees actually reduces atmospheric CO2? Newsflash: it doesn’t.
Short webinar: Why policymakers must end incentives for forest biomass in the Renewable Energy DirectiveJune 20, 2022
Three talks, half an hour, including shocking news on how land sink in some member states is now a carbon source, due to overlogging.
Replacing just 10% of Russian fossil fuels with wood will obliterate even more forestsMay 13, 2022
Replacing this small fraction would require increasing wood-burning by 60%. Not the “green energy” we had in mind.
Biomass plant CO2 emissions – an explanationMay 12, 2022
In which we use fizziks to demonstrate that wood-burning power plants on average emit a lot more CO2 than fossil-fueled plants.
Yes, Finland is devouring its forests for biomass fuelMay 5, 2022
The evidence that Finland is burning up its carbon sink – and its old-growth forests – couldn’t be clearer.
The US Pellet Industry is Trying to Gut EU Biomass Policy ReformsApril 13, 2022
The pellet industry won’t tolerate any damned tree-huggers getting between them and their God-given right to log forests for fuel. Policymakers, maybe it’s time to stand up on your hind legs?
The EU is inching closer to ending subsidies for polluting energy – but what about biomass?March 13, 2022
In addition to ending subsidies for fossil fuels, EU citizens would probably love to stop paying out over €16 billion per year to bioenergy operators.