| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Future Forests + Jobs will launch today to advance a fact-based conversation around renewable wood energy and hold those who spread misinformation about the industry to account. For years, activist organizations such as the Dogwood Alliance, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Environmental Integrity Project have waged a misinformation campaign against the wood biomass industry as well as the entire forest products sector. These efforts mislead the public about the integrated forest products industry – including timber and renewable wood energy – and its role as a necessary solution to mitigate global climate change, which has been repeatedly affirmed by the world’s leading climate research authority, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “These activist groups ignore the science and advance policies that would result in burning more coal and losing more forests – exactly the wrong approach we need to fight global climate change today,” said Future Forests + Jobs spokesman Brian Rogers. “Our mission is to set the record straight and expose the well-funded and coordinated misinformation campaigns targeting this industry, and to stand up for the hundreds of thousands of forest products workers across America.” Future Forests + Jobs will combat misinformation through a new website – FutureForestsAndJobs.com – as well as through media engagement and other grassroots activities. Future Forests + Jobs is supported by the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association, and will be led by Brian Rogers, who served as a senior staffer to U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) for nearly a decade, and previously worked as Research Director for former Vice President Al Gore’s Repower America campaign for comprehensive climate and energy legislation. About Us Future Forests + Jobs’ mission is to advance the conversation around renewable wood energy with facts, and hold those who spread misinformation about the industry to account. FFJ agrees with the scientific consensus that sustainably-sourced wood biomass is a vitally important tool for replacing coal, helping mitigate global climate change, and promoting good-paying jobs in rural communities. About Wood Biomass Wood biomass is a low-carbon, renewable energy source that comes from one of America’s most plentiful and stable resources – our working forests. It’s made from wood fiber that is unsuitable for, or a byproduct of, sawmilling and lumber industries including chips, sawdust and other low-value wood and parts of trees such as tops and limbs. These wood sources are dried and compressed into pellets in a no-chemical process done in accordance with stringent air quality regulations from federal, state and local governments. These pellets can be used as a drop-in substitute for coal in existing power plants and enable an orderly transition to a renewable economy. The world’s leading climate scientists agree that biomass is a key component of any strategy to limit climate change and reduce carbon emissions. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s foremost authoritative body on climate science, specifically highlights sustainable forest management to produce wood biomass energy as a necessary mitigation measure the world should employ in its effort to limit global warming to 1.5C. Contact: Brian Rogers brogers@futureforestsandjobs.com |
