Green-washing isnt so Green after all

On Radio 5 this morning I realised green-washing isnt so green after all, 7th February 2024 featured a discussion on flying and private jets. A listener messaged in to say “Ive planted over 1000 trees so I will fly as much as I like.” Oh dear!

My immediate response was; “Firstly this listener doesn’t understand global warming and climate change. Secondly, he feels entitled, although he plants trees which is good. Thirdly, has he planted the trees or simply used offsets or bought carbon credits.”

Now to the 1st of March, concerning Drax Power station in Yorkshire. The first thing to say about Drax is it is counted as a renewable energy plant because it burns wood chips. In other words it is not renewable energy. Most importantly he whole plant and its supply chain is mired in greenwashing.

Here is the recent article from the BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68381160

First of all, cutting own ancient forest in North America to fuel British power stations is utter lunacy and environmental vandalism. Additionally cutting down forests in North America to fuel Drax is bonkers. The transport costs are phenomenal too, generating vast amounts of CO2.

Second, there is also an external cost. The forests grown for Drax cannot be used for other purposes. Consequently other trees must be cut down too, to provide timber for North America.

“Drax, receives money from energy bill payers because the electricity produced from burning pellets is classified as renewable and treated as emission-free”.

This is Green-washing! This emphatically is not renewable energy.

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