Further Information
The Stop Burning Trees Coalition is a grassroots coalition of groups, from environmentalists to health campaigners and trade unionists, joining together to take action against the biomass industry. This industry is wreaking havoc across the globe, causing devastating harm to forests, biodiversity and communities. We believe that both people and the planet should come before profit, that the transition towards a fairer, greener and just world is possible. Green energy doesn’t need to cost the health of our planet, our communities or our jobs.
As the coalition stems from the North, with many of us in Yorkshire, one of our main targets is Drax Power Station, the biggest tree burner in the world. Drax is responsible for driving environmental racism in the US through the health impacts from its pellet mills on predominantly black and low income communities, logging primary forest on unceded indigenous land in Canada, and harming protected biodiverse forests around the world to be burnt in Yorkshire. Whilst Drax has been our main focus, we support the campaigns to stop tree burning at Lynemouth and other biomass power stations due to their devastating impacts on climate, biodiversity and health across the supply chain.
We oppose woody biomass burning based on the proven harm to forests, to the planet, to biodiversity, and the devastating impacts the biomass industry has on local communities. This goes hand in hand with our belief that people deserve genuine green jobs, with fair pay and conditions.
Our overarching aim is to change the public narrative from the industry claim that ‘biomass is clean - it’s the future’ to the reality that ‘biomass is dirty - it’s the past’. We want to ‘toxify’ the idea of burning biomass for energy in the minds of politicians and the public in the North of England, and beyond.
Our specific aims are to:
- To challenge false narratives surrounding Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and
Storage (BECCS), to stop subsidies for BECCS, and to prevent biomass power stations from continuing to operate under the guise of carbon capture
- Promote the case for redirecting ‘green’ subsidies away from Drax, Lynemouth and other biomass burners to genuinely zero carbon technologies
- Promote a just transition for workers at Drax, and all employees of biomass power stations and in their supply chains
- Promote the protection of carbon stores and biodiversity in forests around the world, particularly those affected by Drax and Lynemouth supply chains
- Protect the air quality of communities living near Drax power station, Lynemouth power station and their supply chain operations around the world
- Bring together people from around the North, UK and beyond to achieve these aims
We are a broad coalition, committed to prioritising people and the planet before profit, to a just transition for all workers, and most fundamentally to environmental and social justice at home and abroad. The nature of the woody biomass industry requires us to be in active solidarity with the communities abroad being harmed by this destructive industry. We hold an internationalist perspective, recognising the harm that British corporations and the UK Government subsidies are leading to abroad as well as here in the UK.
Organisational Structure
We welcome anyone and any group who share the aims of the coalition. Both individuals and groups/organisations are welcome to join the coalition. This form is designed for groups. Individuals can sign up to the coalition on our website. We understand that many groups and people are spread between multiple campaigns, leading to varying capacities to be involved in this coalition. Therefore, we offer multiple avenues for engagement within the coalition.
Steering Group
For groups joining the coalition, you are welcome to have a representative/s on the steering group. We recognise that many groups are limited in capacity, and that attending regular meetings may be incompatible with capacity - this need not be a barrier to a group signing up to be part of the coalition.
The steering group meets every third Wednesday of the month via zoom, we encourage groups to send along at least one delegate to these meetings, however this is not essential for participation in the coalition. Our general, whole coalition, meetings are every third Thursday of the month held on Zoom. We also have multiple working groups, and would encourage coalition members to engage with those should they have capacity.
Those who have very limited capacity, but who are supportive of the aims of the coalition are welcome to formally join the coalition, with no expectation to attend meetings. Supporting the coalition can include signing open letters, promoting events and actions, sharing content on social media, attending events and many more things!