The goal of the "Wood in Sustainable Development" process is to increase knowledge and awareness among all stakeholders on the positive contribution of enhanced wood use to both sustainable development and tackling climate change.
Tackle Climate Change: Use Wood.
Using wood offers a simple way to reduce the CO2 emissions that are the main cause of Climate Change, through the carbon sink effect of the forests, the carbon storage effect of wood products and the substitution for carbon-intensive materials. At the same time it puts the industry’s economic contribution in context.
The European timber industry recognizes the importance of the sustainable ‘triple bottom line’, where long-term economic development must be balanced against the need to respect the environment and the interests of society as a whole.
Environmental arguments for using wood as a way of
reducing Climate Change
At least 60% of climate change can be attributed to CO2 emissions resulting from human activities - mostly the burning of fossil fuels. As 85% of the energy necessary to run our societies comes from fossil fuels, a reduction in emissions of this order would involve politically unacceptable cuts in our energy consumption. In short, the efforts necessary to stabilize the concentrations of greenhouse gases are not consistent with our current vision of development based on a steady increase in global consumption.
In order to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, as required by the Kyoto Protocol, it will not be enough to simply reduce carbon sources, carbon sinks will also have to be increased, and one of the simplest ways to achieve both is to increase the use of wood, since wood has the unique ability to do both!
Forestry practices can make a significant contribution by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through increasing the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere by the national forest estate, by burning wood for fuel, and by using wood as a substitute for energy-intensive materials, such as concrete and steel.
- It has been estimated that an annual 4% increase to 2010 in Europe’s wood consumption would sequester an additional 150 million t CO2 per year and that the market value of this environmental service would be about €1,8 billion a year.
- With the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, the forest sector is about to receive credit for managing this specific environmental quality of the forest, while the development and trade of carbon emission credits enhances the significance of the forest sector within the global economy.
- Increasing oil prices mean the forest sector not only provides alternative materials but also a sustainable source of (bio) energy. As present harvesting levels in the EU are well below sustainable limits, woody biomass energy has considerable potential to help sustain the future global economy.
- The use of wood substitutes, and the belief that these substitutes are better for the environment than wood, are both increasing. The development of a workable carbon intensity labelling system, pro-wood building and packaging standards and invigorated recycling programmes would help to maximise the climatic advantages of wood use.