Farage accuses SNP of ‘hypocrisy’ over 16 million trees felled for wind

Mr Farage accused the SNP of Hypocrisy (Image: Getty ) Nigel Farage has accused the Scottish National Party of ‘hypocrisy’ after it emerged nearly 16 million trees have been chopped down to make way for green energy wind farms. The startling juxtaposition of deforestation for wind turbines emerged when an SNP minister admitted millions of trees had been felled by Forestry and Land Scotland since 2000. A shocking 1,700 trees per day were brought down per day, but SNP Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said developers were expected to undertake ‘compensatory planting elsewhere’. Confirming the numbers, Ms Gougeon said: “This gives an estimated total of 15.7 million trees which have been felled in order to facilitate windfarm development.’ The drive to build new wind turbines is part of the SNP’s plans to make north of the broader net zero over the next ten years. Trees have been cut down to make way for wind turbines (Image: Getty ) The Telegraph reports Scottish Tory MSP Liam Kerr said people in Scotland would be ‘astonished’ by the timber destruction. He told the paper: ‘I’ve been contacted many times by rural communities all over the country questioning the location of these developments, sharing legitimate concerns not just about the visual impact but also damage to wildlife and business. Now we learn there’s significant damage when it comes to trees.’ The newspaper reported in a letter to Mr Kerr, dated July 13, Ms Gougeon said the equivalent of around ‘7,858 hectares of trees had been chopped down’. And referencing the Telegraph article, Nigel Farage weighed into the debate by posting on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: ‘The hypocrisy and damage done by the green agenda is plain to see.’ Nigel Farage criticised cutting down trees in the name of green energy (Image: Getty ) The drive to build new wind turbines is part of the SNP’s plans to make north of the border net zero over the next ten years. Tory MSP Liam Kerr also appeared on GB News last month, adding: “Not just astonishment at the numbers that we are talking about but the fact of it.” Scotland is home to Whitelee Windfarm in Glasgow, Europe’s biggest onshore windfarm with 215 turbines generating up to 539 megawatts of electricity, capable of powering over 350,000 homes. A spokesman for Forestry Land Scotland said: ‘Renewable energy generated from wind farms is a key element in Scotland’s response to the climate emergency and the shift towards net zero and the infrastructure on land that we manage generates enough power for 600,000 homes.’