Peter Wood
@peterup.bsky.social
Forests, climate, biodiversity, environmental and human rights. Lecturer, coordinator of UBC Master of International Forestry program.
I was interviewed for this well-written piece. A leaked report shows that logging levels in northern BC are double what they should be. This could have serious repercussions for BC Forest policy. #forestry #bcpoli
www.biv.com/news/leaked-...
www.biv.com/news/leaked-...
Leaked report claims B.C. timber harvest is vastly overestimated
An undisclosed report obtained by BIV estimates the province is likely approving twice as much logging than can be sustainably harvested
www.biv.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:56 PM
I was interviewed for this well-written piece. A leaked report shows that logging levels in northern BC are double what they should be. This could have serious repercussions for BC Forest policy. #forestry #bcpoli
www.biv.com/news/leaked-...
www.biv.com/news/leaked-...
In the absence of anti-greenwashing laws, we've seen that companies gladly make unsupported/misleading claims. Government has an important role to play in ensuring the integrity of these claims- if 🇨🇦 scraps this, we will fall behind EU and other jurisdictions.
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
Opinion: Ottawa is scrapping Canada’s greenwashing rules. This is a mistake
Canada should not back away from holding firms to account for what they say about the environment
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:08 PM
In the absence of anti-greenwashing laws, we've seen that companies gladly make unsupported/misleading claims. Government has an important role to play in ensuring the integrity of these claims- if 🇨🇦 scraps this, we will fall behind EU and other jurisdictions.
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
Last month, I took some of my students (UBC Master of International Forestry) to the BC interior to participate in an Indigenous-led effort to restore an area of forest that had been badly burned. It was wild! Check out the story here:
forestry.ubc.ca/news/mif-stu...
forestry.ubc.ca/news/mif-stu...
MIF students support Indigenous-led restoration of the Ashnola Watershed | UBC Forestry
Students from UBC Forestry's MIF program help a forest restoration project in the South Okanagan after devastating wildfires in 2023.
forestry.ubc.ca
November 4, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Last month, I took some of my students (UBC Master of International Forestry) to the BC interior to participate in an Indigenous-led effort to restore an area of forest that had been badly burned. It was wild! Check out the story here:
forestry.ubc.ca/news/mif-stu...
forestry.ubc.ca/news/mif-stu...
Excited for the Neil Young concert on Sat! Young supported the "BlueDot" campaign for environmental rights, which I managed for a few years. In 2020, this became a broader coalition effort, & in 2024 succeeded in securing the legal right to a healthy environment in 🇨🇦- thanks Neil!
shorturl.at/932XG
shorturl.at/932XG
Neil Young in Vancouver: A look back at some highlights of his many local performances
From Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to solo shows, Neil Young has almost six decades of local history in Vancouver. Find out more.
vancouversun.com
September 3, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Excited for the Neil Young concert on Sat! Young supported the "BlueDot" campaign for environmental rights, which I managed for a few years. In 2020, this became a broader coalition effort, & in 2024 succeeded in securing the legal right to a healthy environment in 🇨🇦- thanks Neil!
shorturl.at/932XG
shorturl.at/932XG
Reposted by Peter Wood
A last-minute proposal to revise the European Union’s sweeping antideforestation law has conservationists worried about yet another delay to the law’s implementation and weaker oversight of supply chains.
‘Insignificant risk’ EUDR proposal threatens fight against deforestation, critics say
A last-minute proposal to revise the European Union’s sweeping antideforestation law has conservationists worried about yet another delay to the law’s implementation and weaker oversight of supply…
news.mongabay.com
July 27, 2025 at 11:17 AM
A last-minute proposal to revise the European Union’s sweeping antideforestation law has conservationists worried about yet another delay to the law’s implementation and weaker oversight of supply chains.
If you have 5 mins to spare today, use them to help protect BC’s threatened Inland Temperate Rainforest — one of the rarest rainforests left on Earth, and home to endangered deep-snow caribou. Take action to secure permanent protection for the ITR.
secure.wildsight.ca/ITR?source=B...
secure.wildsight.ca/ITR?source=B...
Protection for B.C.’s Inland Temperate Rainforest
Help protect one of the rarest rainforests on Earth—and the species that depend on it.
secure.wildsight.ca
July 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
If you have 5 mins to spare today, use them to help protect BC’s threatened Inland Temperate Rainforest — one of the rarest rainforests left on Earth, and home to endangered deep-snow caribou. Take action to secure permanent protection for the ITR.
secure.wildsight.ca/ITR?source=B...
secure.wildsight.ca/ITR?source=B...
"Pulp mills used to get most of the wood they needed from the wood chips, sawdust and shavings produced at sawmills. But as sawmill after sawmill in B.C. has closed as primary forests dwindle, pulp mills have been forced to rely more and more on whole logs to keep going" thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
Neither ‘Biofuel’ Nor Nuclear Will Solve Our Energy Problems | The Tyee
From Borneo to Japan to BC, the effects are clear. And the solution is something entirely different.
thetyee.ca
July 18, 2025 at 2:50 PM
"Pulp mills used to get most of the wood they needed from the wood chips, sawdust and shavings produced at sawmills. But as sawmill after sawmill in B.C. has closed as primary forests dwindle, pulp mills have been forced to rely more and more on whole logs to keep going" thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
Similar to BC's response to the pine beetle- in the absence of strong rules and enforcement that ensure a path towards restoring ecosystem health, commercial logging can make things worse. We have to accept that this is often not going to be profitable. This looks like a timely report.
*NEW REPORT* Federal land managers are increasingly using ecological objectives such as 'restoration' & 'enhancing resilience' to approve forest mgmt projects that focus on commercial logging. To what extent are these projects scientifically informed, & likely to achieve the outcomes they propose?🧵🌏
July 11, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Similar to BC's response to the pine beetle- in the absence of strong rules and enforcement that ensure a path towards restoring ecosystem health, commercial logging can make things worse. We have to accept that this is often not going to be profitable. This looks like a timely report.
Check out this excellent story-map showing the impact of logging on the southern mountain caribou (by @wildsight.bsky.social, @wildernews.bsky.social, and @stand.earth). Can't believe that new cutblocks are being approved in endangered species' critical habitat. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/82ae...
Stand.earth - For the people and places you love
For more than twenty years, we’ve been utilizing cutting-edge research, building equitable power with frontline communities, and leveraging mass movements to make a real impact on the health and wellb...
Stand.earth
June 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Check out this excellent story-map showing the impact of logging on the southern mountain caribou (by @wildsight.bsky.social, @wildernews.bsky.social, and @stand.earth). Can't believe that new cutblocks are being approved in endangered species' critical habitat. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/82ae...
If you were forced to vote strategically in the last election, consider supporting electoral reform. It ain't sexy, but things that strengthen democracy rarely are.
www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...
www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...
How electoral reform could shatter party fortresses
A change to Canada’s electoral system would have delivered a very different House of Commons this year, according to an analysis for The Canadian Press.
www.ctvnews.ca
May 16, 2025 at 2:50 AM
If you were forced to vote strategically in the last election, consider supporting electoral reform. It ain't sexy, but things that strengthen democracy rarely are.
www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...
www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...
Standing up to the US does not justify weakening environmental protections. It's an opportunity to strengthen them, and ensure that they are aligned with Canadian values 🇨🇦 An important article in @theconversation.com today theconversation.com/elbows-up-in... #elbowsup
‘Elbows up’ in Canada means sustainable resource development
Accelerated resource development in Canada should not burden future generations with environmental destruction.
theconversation.com
May 12, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Standing up to the US does not justify weakening environmental protections. It's an opportunity to strengthen them, and ensure that they are aligned with Canadian values 🇨🇦 An important article in @theconversation.com today theconversation.com/elbows-up-in... #elbowsup
Reposted by Peter Wood
Here are my initial thoughts on the 2025 election - what it means for Canada in the short term and what it means for the movement of social democracy in the long.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Thoughts on Canada's Unprecedented Election
"Trump is the first American president to lose a Canadian election."
substack.com
April 30, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Here are my initial thoughts on the 2025 election - what it means for Canada in the short term and what it means for the movement of social democracy in the long.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Peter Wood
B.C. is failing to protect 81% of critical habitat for at-risk species, government documents show. #bcpoli #biodiversity VIA @ainsliecruickshank.bsky.social thenarwhal.ca/bc-endangere...
B.C. failing to protect 81% critical habitat for at-risk species: docs | The Narwhal
B.C. allows industrial logging in critical habitat for at-risk species – part of the reason it's a long way from meeting federal standards
thenarwhal.ca
April 30, 2025 at 1:11 PM
B.C. is failing to protect 81% of critical habitat for at-risk species, government documents show. #bcpoli #biodiversity VIA @ainsliecruickshank.bsky.social thenarwhal.ca/bc-endangere...
Reposted by Peter Wood
Wade Grant won! Musqueam nation - hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaker (a Salish dialect, the Native language most of Metro Vancouver). The first Coast Salish person in parliament, AFAIK.
April 29, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Wade Grant won! Musqueam nation - hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaker (a Salish dialect, the Native language most of Metro Vancouver). The first Coast Salish person in parliament, AFAIK.
Supreme Court decision establishes that a logging company is not entitled to compensation for a switch to ecosystem-based management on Haida Gwaii. Teal-Jones argued that the restrictions = expropriation and should be compensated $75 million. The judge did not agree. www.thetyee.ca/News/2025/04...
Forestry Giant Not Owed Compensation, BC Supreme Court Rules | The Tyee
Teal-Jones had argued it faced ‘constructive taking’ on Haida Gwaii.
www.thetyee.ca
April 18, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Supreme Court decision establishes that a logging company is not entitled to compensation for a switch to ecosystem-based management on Haida Gwaii. Teal-Jones argued that the restrictions = expropriation and should be compensated $75 million. The judge did not agree. www.thetyee.ca/News/2025/04...
Reposted by Peter Wood
The #WPPh2025 Photo of the Year is ‘Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine’ by Samar Abu Elouf, for @nytimes.com. The jury was moved by this portrait of a Palestinian boy which speaks to the devastating long-term costs of war on civilians. worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/2025/Samar-Abu-Elouf/1
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
The #WPPh2025 Photo of the Year is ‘Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine’ by Samar Abu Elouf, for @nytimes.com. The jury was moved by this portrait of a Palestinian boy which speaks to the devastating long-term costs of war on civilians. worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/2025/Samar-Abu-Elouf/1
Reposted by Peter Wood
New independent study finds that protecting old-growth #forests in just two regions in BC would result in over $43billion worth of economic benefits for society. A strong argument for all govts to make #OldGrowth, biodiversity and nature commitments a reality #bcpoli sierraclub.bc.ca/protecting-o...
April 7, 2025 at 5:11 PM
New independent study finds that protecting old-growth #forests in just two regions in BC would result in over $43billion worth of economic benefits for society. A strong argument for all govts to make #OldGrowth, biodiversity and nature commitments a reality #bcpoli sierraclub.bc.ca/protecting-o...
A decisive victory for progressive candidates in Vancouver's by-election - congrats to @onecityvan.bsky.social @seanorr.bsky.social @lucymaloney.bsky.social . A protest vote against the ruling party in a by-election is not unusual, but this is a strong message from Vancouver voters.
April 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
A decisive victory for progressive candidates in Vancouver's by-election - congrats to @onecityvan.bsky.social @seanorr.bsky.social @lucymaloney.bsky.social . A protest vote against the ruling party in a by-election is not unusual, but this is a strong message from Vancouver voters.
Reposted by Peter Wood
It's the first workday of the year. At 10:54 this morning, Canada's top CEOs have already made $62,661— the average worker's annual salary. By year's end, they'll make 210 times what the worker makes.
Lots of new data in this new @policyalternatives.bsky.social report on CEO pay in Canada.
Lots of new data in this new @policyalternatives.bsky.social report on CEO pay in Canada.
Company men | CCPA
Following two blistering years of all-time high compensation, Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs pocketed $13.2 million, on average, in 2023—the third biggest haul since we’ve been tracking CEO pay. On av...
www.policyalternatives.ca
January 2, 2025 at 3:54 PM
It's the first workday of the year. At 10:54 this morning, Canada's top CEOs have already made $62,661— the average worker's annual salary. By year's end, they'll make 210 times what the worker makes.
Lots of new data in this new @policyalternatives.bsky.social report on CEO pay in Canada.
Lots of new data in this new @policyalternatives.bsky.social report on CEO pay in Canada.
This could have major implications for forestry in BC: First Nation in Cowichan Valley launches a class-action lawsuit against Mosaic and three levels of government for damages related to flooding
thetyee.ca/News/2024/12...
thetyee.ca/News/2024/12...
Halalt First Nation Sues Forest Firm, Governments for Flooding | The Tyee
The class action alleges ‘careless and reckless’ practices created conditions for disaster.
thetyee.ca
December 20, 2024 at 4:21 PM
This could have major implications for forestry in BC: First Nation in Cowichan Valley launches a class-action lawsuit against Mosaic and three levels of government for damages related to flooding
thetyee.ca/News/2024/12...
thetyee.ca/News/2024/12...
Reposted by Peter Wood
In a surprise move, South Korea has announced that it will end subsidies for all new biomass projects and for existing state-owned plants cofiring biomass with coal, effective January 2025, a significant and sudden policy shift.
Will Japan follow South Korea’s example?
Read more:
Will Japan follow South Korea’s example?
Read more:
South Korea slashes forest biomass energy subsidies in major policy reform
In a major policy shift, South Korea announced Dec. 18 that it will end renewable energy subsidies for new biomass projects, as well as for state-owned coal and biomass cofired power plants starting i...
news.mongabay.com
December 20, 2024 at 3:26 PM
In a surprise move, South Korea has announced that it will end subsidies for all new biomass projects and for existing state-owned plants cofiring biomass with coal, effective January 2025, a significant and sudden policy shift.
Will Japan follow South Korea’s example?
Read more:
Will Japan follow South Korea’s example?
Read more:
"The “War in the Woods” primarily hinges on the remaining 1.4 million hectares of undeferred most at-risk old-growth stands." A helpful summary of the NDP-Green agreement on old growth and what's at stake: www.endangeredecosystemsalliance.org/news/2024/12...
Conservationists Welcome BC NDP and Green Governance Agreement – BC Forestry Review Could Provide Key Opportunity to Strengthen Old-Growth Forest Protection Policies — Endangered Ecosystems Alliance
The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) and Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are welcoming the new 2024 Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord between the NDP and Green parties in BC. The coopera...
www.endangeredecosystemsalliance.org
December 18, 2024 at 3:52 PM
"The “War in the Woods” primarily hinges on the remaining 1.4 million hectares of undeferred most at-risk old-growth stands." A helpful summary of the NDP-Green agreement on old growth and what's at stake: www.endangeredecosystemsalliance.org/news/2024/12...
Student initiative gets UN to seek legal opinion on climate justice and small island states at risk due to rising sea levels: "it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits."
www.msn.com/en-ca/money/...
www.msn.com/en-ca/money/...
MSN
www.msn.com
December 1, 2024 at 10:58 PM
Student initiative gets UN to seek legal opinion on climate justice and small island states at risk due to rising sea levels: "it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits."
www.msn.com/en-ca/money/...
www.msn.com/en-ca/money/...
Unsustainable resource extraction is wiping out caribou and ultimately small communities as well. Excellent editorial in the Globe: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
Globe editorial: How (not) to save Quebec’s threatened boreal caribou
The province needs to take action on years of promises rather than protest about Ottawa’s jurisdictional intrusion
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 25, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Unsustainable resource extraction is wiping out caribou and ultimately small communities as well. Excellent editorial in the Globe: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
Reposted by Peter Wood
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but in the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, salmon do.
On BC’s North Coast, First Nations Are Building a New Economy | The Tyee
How the Great Bear Sea initiative is using conservation finance to create jobs and preserve nature.
thetyee.ca
November 20, 2024 at 3:52 PM
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but in the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, salmon do.