TTJ editor Mike Jeffree has responded to an article in The Times which said Britain was set to “plunder” the world’s forests to feed a new generation of biomass power stations.
The article said wood fuel was already being shipped to the UK from Canada, Brazil, Scandinavia and South Korea, with one power plant at Port Talbot requiring the equivalent of 30% of the UK’s annual domestic wood harvest.
In his letter to the newspaper, TTJ editor Mike Jeffree said it was nonsense to say the UK was plundering world forests for wood fuel and that the article’s emotive language was the kind that bedevilled the use of timber in the UK and threatened to drive industries into the arms of less sustainable alternative materials.
He also acknowledged the justifiable concerns of the wood panel industry that the wood energy sector could outbid it for raw material due to unfair eco-tax breaks.
UK Forest Products Association executive director David Sulman also responded to the article. In his letter, Mr Sulman said that while woody biomass had a role to play, it was important that a sense of perspective is maintained in relation to the UK availability of wood fuels and the needs of the domestic wood processing sector.
He added that wood products should be used for wood fuel only once they had reached their useful life.
To read The Times article click here.
To read Mike Jeffree’s letter and responses click here. To read David Sulman’s letter click here.
