As Climate Change negotiations get underway in Bonn, a coalition of green groups has released a report sharply criticizing the United States for its projected use of biomass for electricity generation.
Specifically, the group warns that increased demand for wood for bioenergy is triggering logging and expansions of tree plantations using genetically modified tree species in the United States, Ghana, the Congo, Brazil, and West Papua.
“U.S. plans for large-scale expansion of bioenergy, the promotion of bioachar, and the recent USDA approval of a large-scale release of GE (genetically engineered) trees in the American South, threaten to devastate forests and communities,” says the press release.
The report claims wood is projected to become the main source of renewable energy in the U.S.
“The Senate version of the U.S. climate bill, the American Power Act has alarming provisions that will dramatically increase production of biochar,” explained Rachel Smolker, of Biofuelwatch in the U.S. “The idea that we can heal the climate by burning trees and burying charcoal is unfounded, untested and dangerous. A letter to Congress from 90 top scientists this past week challenged industry claims that burning trees for energy is ‘carbon neutral.”
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