On 11th November 2021, the United Nations’ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched a report to demonstrate how renewable wood-based products can help combat climate change and achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The publication
Forest Products in the Global Bioeconomy: Enabling substitution by wood-based products and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals was launched at a COP26 side event by Dr. E. Ashley Steel, Forest Statistics Expert at the FAO.
The event was hosted at the COP26 South African Pavilion by Jane Molony, CEO of Fibre Circle and Executive Director of the Paper Manufacturers of South Africa (PAMSA) and facilitated by Derek Nighbor, President of the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) and President and CEO of Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC).
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.
The study brings together the most recent knowledge on the role played by forest products in the global bioeconomy, and how emerging technologies are creating innovative new uses for wood and its derivatives. It also includes specific recommendations for governments, industry, and international cooperation bodies as they look to increase their respective contributions to sustainable development and a greener planet.
Click here to see the full press release.