The coalition hopes that its open letter and The Nature Conspiracy exposé can catalyze funders, policymakers, and the public to recognize the problems of industry logging, help stop the expansion of the wood pellet industry and redirect government and philanthropic dollars to community-led solutions that keep forests standing and advance new, nonestractive engines of rural economic development.
"The latest IPCC report findings confirmed the growing body of scientific evidence that it is essential to maintain the ecological integrity of our forests and all natural systems to protect and restore biodiversity and avoid the worst consequences of climate change," said William Moomaw, PhD, emeritus professor of international environmental policy at Tufts University, and a lead author of five IPCC reports. "As a scientist, I call on The Nature Conservancy to stop undermining these climate and biodiversity goals." In The Nature Conspiracy, residents of environmental justice communities in the rural South report that the growing wood-pellet industry is damaging their health and their quality of life. These plants, which tend to be built near low income communities of color, turn trees into tiny pellets - a form of biomass - that are shipped to Europe and Asia and burned to generate electricity. The exposé also documents how TNC has aligned with two of the biggest players in the wood pellet market - Enviva and Drax - in a collaborative that seeks to influence government policy. "While The Nature Conservancy is helping drive federal subsidies to expand wood markets, companies like Enviva and Drax are ramping up wood pellet production and environmental justice communities across the South are paying the price with their health," said Kathy Egland, founder of Mississippi's Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate, and Health Organization. She chairs the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee of NAACP, which recently passed a resolution opposing the biomass and wood pellet industry's expansion across the South.
Danna Smith, Executive Director
Danna is the founder of Dogwood Alliance. For over 20 years, she has been at the forefront of forest protection in the US, leading hard-hitting campaigns and negotiating ground-breaking forest protection commitments from some of the largest companies in the world. She is a leading voice connecting the dots between climate change, forest destruction and social justice and pushing for forest protection in the US at a scale necessary to meet the sustainability challenges of the 21st Century. She holds a law degree from Emory University.
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