Sustainable forests can cut global emissions by half

Submitted: The Two Sides Team January 12, 2016

A study conducted by Swedish company Södra Skogsägarna shows that if effective forest management practices were adopted in the world's production forests, it would be possible to bind a further 9-17 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This corresponds to 30-50 percent of global emissions.

"Many people are unaware of the role the forest plays in the context of climate change. In the forest industry, we have fallen short when it comes to explaining the correlation between the two. Growing, well-managed forest binds carbon dioxide, thus preventing it from entering the atmosphere," says Lena Ek, Chairman of Södra Skogsägarna. Södra produces sawn and planed timber goods, interior products, paper pulp and biofuel.

Maintaining a strong demand for forest products will play a key role in reducing fossil fuel consumption, the report notes. “The main advantage is the potential to replace products made from fossil materials with products made from wood. This reduces the emissions from finite materials, at the same time as we manufacture renewable wood products that continue to store carbon dioxide throughout their lifetime.”

Read the entire article here.