Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Energy company Drax lobbied Canadian officials for their intervention as the UK group sought changes to EU rules that could prevent the bloc from burning wood biomass sourced from forests in British Columbia.
The UK biomass plant owner wrote to officials in British Columbia, in a letter seen by the Financial Times, to warn EU rules covering the use of biomass such as wood pellets for energy risked restricting supply chains by effectively banning material from old-growth and primary forests. Drax also sells wood pellets to companies in the bloc.
In the letter sent last year, Drax warned the new EU law definitions and categorisation of old growth and primary forest areas were “not aligned” with local and regional laws and criteria around harvesting practices in BC, an important source of material for the company.
“It is critical that appropriate clarifications are provided so that Canada’s approach to forests and management of old growth is recognised as part of the implementation of these two laws across the EU,” it said.
It asked for a meeting with the office of the minister of forests to discuss “how we can work together to ensure that BC remains a leader in Canadian and global forestry”.
Campaigners say the EU rules introduce important protections for old-growth and undisturbed forests, which can play an important role in storing carbon and hosting other plants and wildlife.
Tegan Hansen, senior forest manager at campaign group Stand.earth, which obtained the letter via a freedom of information request, said it was “concerning to see a company intervening to try and get our government onside to amend them”.
“The important thing is for forest management practices here [in Canada] to be improved, rather than the EU rules to be amended.”
The EU updated its rules around the sourcing of biomass for renewable energy last year, boosting protections for old-growth and primary forests. These are on top of new “deforestation-free products” rules introduced in June 2023 to curb imports of goods causing damage to forests.
It is not illegal to harvest old-growth forests in BC, unless the area is specially protected.
In a statement to the FT, Drax said it “recognises the importance of sustainably sourced biomass, and we work to ensure our pellets are legally harvested and meet the strict sustainability requirements of the UK, US, and Canadian governments, as well as those of the EU”.
But it added “current definitions in EU legislation could inadvertently attribute well-established Canadian forest management practices, including regenerating harvested forests through planting native tree species as well as natural regeneration, as contributing to forest degradation”.
Without clarifications, the EU rules could “severely impact transatlantic trade and restrict the EU’s ability to source products from Canada’s wood and timber sector like sustainable biomass”, it said.
In October, the EU put in place an extra 12-month phase-in period for the new deforestation rules, following representations from companies and others.
BC’s forests ministry said it was “working to conserve more old forests for future generations” and had recently announced 10 new protected areas.
The ministry added that while it agreed with preventing deforestation, the EU’s definition of forest degradation was “not accepted internationally”. The BC government previously met with Drax last February but not to discuss the EU rules, the ministry said.
In the UK, Drax is seeking further taxpayer support for its switch to burning wood pellets at its largest power station after the 2027 expiry of a subsidy arrangement that delivered almost £1bn in 2023.
Read the full article here