More than 40 environmental groups have called on Ed Miliband to abandon plans to pay billions in subsidies to the Drax power station in North Yorkshire so it can continue to burn wood pellets imported from overseas forests.

In an open letter to the Energy Secretary, 41 groups from across Europe and the US expressed their “deep concern” about the government’s plans to cover the cost of extending the subsidy scheme that supports Britain’s most polluting power station from 2027 until the end of the decade.

The subsidy scheme, which has brought FTSE 250 owners Drax more than £7 billion since 2012, also supports the Lynemouth biomass power station in Northumberland, owned by billionaire investor Daniel Křetínský.

“These power plants are burning trees from some of the world’s most biodiverse forests in the southern United States, Canada and Europe, with devastating impacts on people, wildlife and the climate. This puts forests and wildlife in many of our countries at risk,” the letter said.

“We urge (Miliband) not to grant new subsidies to wood-fired power stations in the UK and would be grateful if you could meet with some of us to discuss these concerns directly with you,” it added.

The letter was signed by environmental groups from the US, Canada, Latvia, Estonia and Portugal – all countries that supplied the nearly 6 million tonnes of wood pellets that the UK imported in 2023 – amid growing concerns about the environmental impact of felling trees for biomass.

Just days earlier, environmental activists in the UK accused Drax of using police as “private security” for the power station after dozens of preventive arrests at the site forced the cancellation of a climate protest camp. Police arrested 25 people and confiscated tents, fire equipment and wheelchair-accessible flooring in what environmental groups called an “undue restriction on free expression.”

Adam Colette, an activist with the Dogwood Alliance based in North Carolina in the US, said: “Our forests and communities have long suffered from the destructive practices of the biomass industry. The destruction is led by Drax and funded by the UK government. We hope that a new government will recognise the impact of false solutions that are harming people and the environment in the US South and stop subsidising planet-destroying companies.”

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been asked for comment.

Drax has won the support of the British government by claiming that its electricity is “carbon neutral” because the trees felled to produce wood pellets absorb as much carbon dioxide as they emit when burned in the power station.

Analysis published earlier this month by climate think tank Ember found that Drax was Britain’s biggest carbon emitter last year after its chimneys released 11.5 million tonnes of CO.₂or almost 3% of the UK’s total carbon dioxide emissions.

The company plans to install carbon capture technology at the site – using further subsidies – to create a “bioenergy with carbon capture and storage” (Beccs) project that it says will be the world’s first “carbon negative” power plant by the end of the decade.

Experts dispute these claims. More than 500 scientists signed a letter in 2021 warning that burning wood pellets creates a “carbon debt” that cannot be paid off by the growth of new trees for decades.

“Regrowing trees and replacing fossil fuels may eventually pay off this carbon debt, but regrowth takes time, which the world does not have to solve climate change. As numerous studies have shown, burning wood will increase warming for decades to centuries. This is true even if the wood replaces coal, oil or natural gas,” the letter says.

A government spokesman said: “The IPCC defines biomass produced according to strict sustainability criteria as a low-carbon energy source. We will continue to monitor electricity generation from biomass to ensure that it meets the required standards.”

Drax was contacted for comment.