Australia’s forest industries have welcomed the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ new report on forest products and the vital role they play in the global bioeconomy and climate change mitigation. Source: Timberbiz
The report, Forest products in the global bioeconomy: Enabling substitution by wood-based products and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, provides a set of recommendations to increase the contribution of forest products for climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
The UN FAO report examines forestry’s role in providing renewable and sustainable solutions that can drive the global shift to a net-zero future by promoting wood as a bio-based material that can substitute fossil sources to produce energy, food, feed, fibre, and other manufactured goods.
Beyond its traditional uses in timber and paper, new wood-based products and technologies are emerging, aiming to increase the added value of wood products, decrease the carbon and water.
Australian Forest Products Association CEO and Chair of the UN Advisory Committee of Sustainable Forest Based Industries (ACSFI), Ross Hampton, said the report brought together the most up-to-date knowledge on the role of forest products in the global bioeconomy.
“Wood-based products assist with climate change mitigation by storing carbon, while also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the materials they substitute – such as concrete, steel, plastics, and synthetic fibres,” Mr Hampton said.
“If we are to stay within 1.5 degrees, the use of sustainably-sourced wood products will be an essential part of the circular bioeconomy. This report outlines the emerging technologies that make forest products easily accessible by both companies and individuals who want to reduce their impact on the planet.
“I hope the recommendations put forward by this comprehensive report to both enable and boost the use of forest products are implemented by policymakers, the private sector, governments, international cooperation bodies and researchers around the globe,” Mr Hampton said.
