All posts filed under: Forest Campaign

Biomass: EU asks – denkhausbremen replies

Statement on survey by the European Commission for European biomass policy from 2020 The current European biomass policy has serious consequences for the environment. The European energy companies are on a global shopping spree for timber. The electricity suppliers are burning this wood in their power plants and receiving public money according to EU rules. This leads to forest destruction and is harmful for the global climate. denkhausbremen did research on the impact of the EU biomass policy in 2015 in the southern United States and France and is currently working with its partners against the clearcut policy of those power companies ( www.denkhausbremen.de/kahlschlag-fuer-e-on-und-rwe ). Now the EU is revising its biomass strategy after 2020 and has implemented a stakeholder consultation which ends on the 10th of May. This is the statement of denkhausbremen: The current EU Biomass policy is causing the destruction of biodiverse wetland forests in the southern US-states. Research has already documented the chain of custody from clearcuts in the southern US states such as North Carolina to the European power plants. …

Barking up the wrong tree: Energy giants are on a worldwide shopping tour for wood in order to produce ”green” electricity

Published by Peter

Humanity has got an energy problem. Fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are finite and burn-ing them causes climate change. Nuclear energy is dangerous and produces radioactive waste. Renewable energies such as sun, wind or biomass are thus to provide us with green energy in the future. That’s old news. Political efforts are made to induce the necessary energy transformation with quotas and sub-sidies. The EU wants biomass to play a major role in the renewable energies for the future. Renewables are expected to account for 20% of energy consumption by 2020, goals for 2030 are negotiated right now. As for the EU, biomass would primarily mean wood. The European hunger for wood has fatal consequences: forests are clear-cut and fertile farmland and precious ecosystems are destroyed for industrial wood plantations. And it’s not a no solution for climate change. Even the US government noted in June this year that energy from wood is by no means climate-neutral. Facing climate change and a new situation for energy policy, the energy giants’ coal-fired power …

In the critical 2017 agricultural report: Clear-cutting for electricity companies

Published by michael.gerhardt

By Peter Gerhardt and Michael Gerhardt Wood has been an important source of energy for humans since time immemorial. On a small scale and at a local level, this can be a meaningful lifestyle of giving to and taking from na-ture. Now corporations like E.ON and RWE have discovered the forest as a source of energy and unpack the chainsaw. As a result, species-rich forest ecosystems are degraded to indus-trial tree monocultures or whole forest areas are cut down. The energy giants are even subsi-dized for this exploitation of nature by public funds because the EU has set up wrong climate protection rules. The corporations’ hunger for wood shows how our growth-oriented economy exhausts the global ecosystems in the long term. The pressure on the forests is increasing – forest areas worldwide are being destroyed for agri-culture, firewood, mining and dams. A look at the expansion plans of the paper industry also shows that this industry will continue to destroy large forest areas. However, now the global battle for a share of wood reaches a …

Unipers wood burning in Provence power station destroys forests!

Published by michael.gerhardt

Press release from Denkhaus Bremen, SOS Foret du Sud, Rettet den Regenwald and the Association of Critical Shareholders: Unipers wood burning in Provence power station destroys forests! (Essen, 8 June 2017) French and German environmentalists criticize the Group’s biomass strategy at the first Shareholders’ Meeting of the E.ON spin-off Uniper, which takes place on Thursday (8 June 17) in Essen. Uniper is currently equipping block 4 of the Provence coal-fired power station in Gardanne, southern France, on wood burning and is now in the trial phase. From the point of view of environmental organizations, forests in France and overseas are at risk. “Combustion of wood for electricity production on an industrial scale puts a considerable strain on the atmosphere by emissions of CO2 and increases the pressure on forests. The most stupid solution to our energy problems is the conversion of ancient coal-fired power plants to wood firing, “says Peter Gerhardt of Denkhaus Bremen. Uniper plans to burn over 800,000 tonnes of wood annually in Gardanne. “The energy giant must immediately stop this madness!” Nicholas …

“Paper Saving – Packaging in Focus” Conference

Published by Peter

Jan. 22 to 23, 2019 in Bremen, Germany denkhausbremen and the Environmental Paper Network (EPN) invite you to attend the “Paper Saving – Packaging in Focus” Conference from January 22-23, 2019 in Bremen, Germany. Paper packaging is the main driver of the persistently high paper consumption in Germany and around the world. The majority is used to support the booming online retail sector. In 2017, almost half of German paper consumption was for packaging (9.9 million tonnes). The paper that provides this packaging has negative impacts on sustainability and social justice, including forest loss, climate change, and human rights abuses. To discuss this issue, denkhausbremen and the Environmental Paper Network (EPN) have organised the “Paper Saving – Packaging in Focus” Conference to bring together leaders from NGOs, manufacturers, and retailers. The participants will work out solutions and strategies for the responsible use of paper packaging. 1. Dialogue with the Industry Tuesday January 22, 2019, 11.30am – 5.30pm House of Science, Sandstraße 4/5, 28195 Bremen Daniel Müsgens: Paper packaging – trends and developments Olaf Dechow: Sustainable …

Sustainability in the case of tissue (paper)

Published by michael.gerhardt

Debate between environmentalists and industry: What is sustainability in the case of tissue? At a high level congress “Tissue – Moving Towards Sustainability”, major environmental NGOs had discussions with manufacturers and retailers about steps towards responsible production of products like paper for baby nappies (diapers), toilet paper and tissues. The biggest issue for debate was whether significant savings in tissue consumption could be a realistic option for the future. The conference was organised by denkhausbremen, together with its partners EPN and Bremen University of Applied Science and took place in Bremen, Germany early 2018. Experts from Environmental organisations like WWF, Greenpeace, BUND (Friends of the Earth), Robin Wood and Environmental Paper Network (EPN) met with representatives from major retail businesses like ALDI Nord and Bio Company. The industry was represented by experts from the large German tissue paper manufacturers WEPA and Fripa as well as the Swedish forest and pulp company Södra. Environmental organizations, retailers and the industry agreed that the use of recycled paper is an important contribution to sustainability. The paper expert Angelika …