The environmental non-profit Stand.earth fails to see the wood from the trees when it comes to the Canadian forestry industry and Drax’s limited role within it (Drax still burning 250-year-old trees sourced from forests in Canada, experts say, 9 November). We do not own forests or sawmills, and we do not decide what areas are approved for harvesting.
The vast majority (81%) of our Canadian fibre came from sawdust and other sawmill residues created when sawmills produce wood products used in construction and other industries in 2024. The remaining 19% of our fibre came from forest residues, including low-grade roundwood, tops, branches and bark.
Forests in British Columbia are harvested for lumber by timber companies under strict regulations set by the province’s government in joint decision-making with indigenous First Nations. Around 94% of the province’s forests are on public land, and it is a legal requirement for these sites to be reforested in a free-growing condition. Leaving Canada’s forests unmanaged is not the answer to preserving these landscapes. We witnessed this in Jasper, Alberta last year when a wildfire on unmanaged land led to $880m in damages and significant amounts of CO2 released into the atmosphere.
The fibre highlighted in Stand.earth’s report was low-grade roundwood, which was rejected by sawmills following approved harvesting. Without the biomass sector using this harvest residue, it would likely be controllably burned on site to help mitigate wildfire risk. It is far better to positively use this residual fibre to generate renewable electricity. None of the fibre highlighted in this report came from a designated old growth management area or old growth deferral area.
Miguel Veiga-Pestana
Chief sustainability officer, Drax Group plc
The UK has a hard-won reputation for global forest protection, thanks to its leadership when it hosted COP in 2021. It is a bitter irony that in the run-up to a climate conference hosted in the Amazon, the UK government has signed a new contract to pay billions in subsidies to Drax (Drax power plant to go on earning ‘over £1m a day’ from burning wood pellets, 5 November). Drax burns millions of tonnes of trees every year, with reporting in this newspaper showing it is still burning trees over 250 years old from Canada.
While claiming to still be a forest leader, the UK spends billions supporting an industry that harms them. This contradiction exposes the government’s hollow claims of environmental leadership. Burning imported biomass is no credible climate solution; it simply shifts emissions and destruction elsewhere.
If Britain truly wants to lead on nature and climate, it must stop financing forest loss under the guise of “green” energy and reclaim the mantle of forest leadership to protect ecosystems. Public money should restore and preserve forests – not reward those who destroy them.
Matt Williams
Senior forest advocate for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)