Tory MP Nigel Adams pushed for biomass subsidies while receiving £62,000 in donations from industry
It has been reported that one of the strongest biomass supporters in parliament, Nigel Adams MP, received more than £60k in donations from the industry while lobbying the government to provide biomass companies with subsidies.
Adams reportedly accepted £62,411 in donations between 2012 and 2016, including more than £30,000 to attend a number of conferences and events at luxury hotels in Miami Beach and New Orleans.
According to website Unearthed, Adams was given the donations and hospitality while calling for public subsidies for biomass players to be increased and he lobbied former Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012 to divert onshore wind farm subsidies tot he biomass sector.
The Unearthed report comes after think tank Chatham House recently warned in a report that most forms of biomass generate more carbon than coal. Biomass is often cited as a possible solution to climate change.
When contacted by Unearthed, Adams described concerns over the donations as an attempt to “smear the biomass industry and those associated with it”.
“As Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Biomass, it is not unusual for domestic and international companies looking to invest in my constituency or the wider UK energy sector to want to engage with me at meetings or conferences on broader energy issues.”
“It is also not unusual for these companies to fund the cost of travel and accommodation for MP’s including myself to take part in these conferences or meetings”, he reportedly said.