The Fabian Society’s New Year Conference hosting Wes Streeting as the keynote speaker¹ was disrupted by an activist calling on the Labour Party to end tree-burning subsidies for Drax Power Station.
The Fabian conference brings together key government ministers, journalists and organisations, this year around the theme ‘Britain 2030’. An activist interrupted health secretary Wes Streeting’s speech to draw attention to the ‘devastating’ health impacts of biomass production. They accused the government of funding toxic air pollution in the UK and abroad by subsidising Drax and the biomass industry using a levy off UK energy bills².
Labour is currently considering whether to grant further subsidies to Drax, the UK’s single largest carbon emitter which also makes considerable donations to the Labour Party³, when its current subsidies run out in 2027⁴. More than 40 environmental NGOs are calling on the government to reject this proposal⁵. Drax has repeatedly been accused of ‘driving environmental racism’ through their woody biomass pellet production process, with high levels of toxic pollutants emitted on production sites predominantly located in low-income communities of colour⁶.
Around midday this afternoon, partway through the keynote speech, an activist disrupted the event, challenging Wes Streeting over his party’s refusal to rule out renewing subsidies for Drax. Standing up in the hall to address him directly, the activist highlighted the inherent health risks of climate inaction. ‘We cannot heal the NHS on a sick planet!’ the protestor told Streeting. Members of the audience could be heard cheering for the activist. She was taken out of the room by security.
Rosie Gloster, spokesperson for Axe Drax:
The Government has the opportunity to end years of suffering inflicted on communities abroad by ending subsidies for Drax. There are whole communities struggling to breathe in the US due to Drax’s operations. Drax is destroying vital forests, poisoning communities and polluting our planet. As Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting must listen to the communities abroad suffering the devastating health impacts of Drax’s dirty pollution and put an end to subsidies for Drax.
Sam Simmons, spokesperson for Climate Resistance:
It’s never been more obvious that the climate crisis is a health crisis. In the space of three months we’ve seen thousands lose their homes to the LA wildfires, mass power outages in Scotland and Ireland from storm Éowyn, and hundreds of deaths in the Valencia floods. It is an outrage in the wake of all these catastrophes that our energy bills are still being used to fund environmentally destructive projects like Drax Power Station. If the Labour government wants to protect the health of UK citizens it must end tree-burning subsidies now.
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ENDS
Axe Drax
Axe Drax is a UK based grassroots network that actively opposes Drax through disruptive direct action. We campaign for an end to Drax’s subsidies, due to the environmental, societal and planetary impacts of burning trees for energy. We are building a broad based network, working in solidarity with frontline communities to effectively confront the environmentally destructive biomass industry and the social and economic forces driving climate change.
Drax
Drax Power Station, located near Selby in Yorkshire, is the world’s biggest woody biomass power station and the UK’s single largest carbon emitter. Drax sources from around the world, primarily the US, Canada, and the Baltic States. Drax’s wood pellet production sites, predominantly located in environmental justice communities, emit large amounts of pollutants, such as PM10, PM2.5 and VOCs which are linked to respiratory and pulmonary health impacts. Woody biomass is counted as carbon neutral by the UK Government, allowing Drax to receive renewable energy subsidies (CfDs and ROCs).
Website: axedrax.uk
Social Media: axe_drax
Spokespeople are available upon request.
[1] https://fabians.org.uk/event/fabian-society-new-year-conference-2025-britain-2030/
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/20/energy-bills-drax-carbon-emissions
[3] https://www.desmog.com/2024/09/04/fossil-fuel-lobbyists-major-polluters-sponsor-2024-labour-conference-events-drax-cadent-oeuk-new-statesman/
[4] https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/the-largest-emitters-in-the-uk-annual-review/
[5] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/27/subsidies-biomass-wood-burning-drax-power-station-uk
[6] https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2022/09/26/drax-accused-environmental-racism-further-pollution-claims-against-wood-pellet-mills-us/