Victory amid a coup – South Korea acts for nature and climate

The South Korean government has announced a reduction in subsidies for biomass energy, which involves burning forests for electricity. This decision followed an Associated Press investigation and a citizen campaign led by Solutions For Our Climate and other allies. The author argues that biomass is not a climate solution, stating it emits more carbon than coal and drives deforestation in Indonesia, Canada, and the United States. The document calls for Japan and the UK to implement similar reductions in biomass subsidies to protect forests in Southeast Asia and North America.

• The government of South Korea has announced it will reduce subsidies for biomass energy, which is the practice of burning forests for electricity.
• The biomass industry is described as a driver of forest destruction in Canada, the United States, and Indonesia, threatening species such as orangutans and mountain caribou.
• The author asserts that biomass energy is not a viable climate solution because it emits more carbon than coal.
• Asia is the largest growth market for biomass, with Japan expected to be the world's largest consumer of wood pellets by 2030.

APA

Hurowitz, G. (2025). Victory amid a coup – South Korea acts for nature and climate. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-victory-amid-a-coup-south-korea-acts-for-nature-and-climate/

Chicago

Hurowitz, Glenn. Victory amid a coup – South Korea acts for nature and climate. Mighty Earth, 2025. https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-victory-amid-a-coup-south-korea-acts-for-nature-and-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hurowitz |first1=Glenn |title=Victory amid a coup – South Korea acts for nature and climate |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=25 January 2025 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-victory-amid-a-coup-south-korea-acts-for-nature-and-climate/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hurowitz2025victory, author = {Hurowitz, Glenn}, title = {{Victory amid a coup – South Korea acts for nature and climate}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-victory-amid-a-coup-south-korea-acts-for-nature-and-climate/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }