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Read the original article published by the Greener Jobs Alliance here.
As climate chaos rages around the world, the Government has just made the reckless decision to extend subsidies for the UK’s single biggest carbon emitter, Drax. Subsidies were due to expire in 2027, and contrary to advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), Labour chose to extend subsidies to 2031. This is a decision to continue funding the destruction of forests, pollution of communities, huge amounts of carbon emissions and the profits of Drax’s shareholders at the expense of UK bill payers.
However, the Government hasn’t given Drax exactly what it wanted. New subsidies only cover 27% of generation, about half of Drax’s current level. When Michael Shanks announced the decision, he took the opportunity to lambast Drax over its many indiscretions. The announcement’s tone was not a happy one, but frustration at the apparent need for Drax to continue supplying dispatchable power whilst real renewables are scaled up.
That said, the reality of the draft terms isn’t that bad for Drax. The Government made a big show around improving sustainability standards (no real change, Drax already claims nearly 100% of its biomass is sustainable), reducing supply chain emissions (the new level is higher than Drax’s current emissions, and four times the rate set for this type of subsidy in 2018) and claims from Government, then repeated in the press, that Drax’s subsidies had been ‘halved’ (the new strike price is set so high Drax could receive similar amounts to currently). A notable absence was any reference to communities suffering devastating health impacts from Drax’s wood pellet production pollution abroad.
In many ways, Drax has been rewarded for bad behaviour.
However, the announcement made clear the Government recognises how strong public and political opposition is to Drax; committing to a full review of the role of BECCS in future generation mix. The CCC’s recent Seventh Carbon Budget saw BECCS reduced nearly fivefold, with an (albeit far too slow) end to all imported biomass. It’s far from the deal Drax wanted, who’ve now announced they’ll be cutting BECCS investment.
With Drax looking at roughly half as much generation, and rumoured refusal to confirm job security past 2027, job losses look likely. Combined with the recent mass redundancies at C-Capture, Drax’s carbon capture partner, and the future of BECCS looking increasingly uncertain - it’s more urgent than ever to be developing a proactive worker-led transition.
There is a lot of work still to be done in building relationships with workers and unions, to recognise that the future of Drax is not in continued tree burning, or promises of carbon capture: but in the real green jobs we need to decarbonise. We’re grateful for the roles our friends in the unions are playing in pushing this forward, and while progress sometimes feels slow, movement is happening. The cracks are beginning to show and the end of Drax is in sight: so it's up to us, across climate and worker justice campaigns, to make sure there is a real transition to a greener future.
Read the original article published by the Greener Jobs Alliance here.
