This series on the wood pellet industry and the different views on the role of North Carolina forests in combating climate change took six months to put together, but drew on years of experience and reporting. It was produced in partnership with The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Biomass is not Renewable
The wood pellet industry is shipping North Carolina forests across the Atlantic to be burned in power stations and calling this “biomass” a renewable fuel. This worsens the climate crisis by turning carbon-absorbing living trees into a fuel that emits more carbon than coal when burned.
Enviva, the world’s largest wood pellet exporter, already has 3 mills in North Carolina and plans to build a fourth in Richmond County. Help stop the practice by joining the Dogwood Alliance’s Our Forests Aren’t Fuel campaign.
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Advocates say the state is allowing environmental harm in low-income, minority counties — News & Observer
The state is failing low-income communities with large African-American and Native American populations by allowing polluting industries to concentrate in their counties, a group of residents said Wednesday as they demanded that an environmental justice advisory board do more to advocate for them.
Logging is North Carolina’s Third Largest Carbon Emitter — News Release from Dogwood Alliance
Tell Gov. Cooper to put a moratorium on the wood pellet industry in NC New report outlines the impact that industrial logging has on our climate and the need for change if we are going to address the climate crisis; Governor Cooper can ensure his climate legacy by taking action …
Diverse alliance turns up heat on North Carolina Governor Cooper, demanding real climate action — News release from NC WARN
Today, with the imminent release of the Governor’s Clean Energy Plan, 28 national to local organizations representing tens of thousands of North Carolinians sent an open letter to Governor Roy Cooper urging him to exercise all regulatory and political authority to stop the expansion of dirty energy projects throughout the state.
Groups Call on Governor Cooper to Pull the Brakes on Wood Pellet Industry in North Carolina — News Release
The Concerned Citizens of Richmond County and Dogwood Alliance joined with faith, justice, health and science leaders to call on North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to stop the continued growth of the wood pellet industry in the state.
New Study Faults Biomass Industry Greenwashing Scheme — News Release
A four-year-old biomass certification program has led to increased carbon dioxide emissions, accelerated the loss of natural forests, and created negative impacts on local communities – the very results it was designed to avoid, according to a new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Dogwood Alliance.