OTTAWA/CNW/ - The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is underscoring the crucial role played by the forest sector in mitigating climate change.
'The Canadian forest products industry is part of the solution to the problem of climate change," says David Lindsay, president and CEO of FPAC. "Our vast renewable forest resource and the actions of our forest companies are truly making a difference to this crucial issue."
Trees absorb the carbon dioxide (CO2) that causes climate change. The forest sector also reduces dependence on fossil fuels by using residuals and byproducts to produce renewable energy. In addition, forest products such as bio-materials and bio-chemicals store CO2 and can replace products made from materials with a heavier carbon footprint. This storage can also be prolonged through recycling.
"All harvested trees in Canada are regrown ensuring forests will be there in the future to continue absorbing carbon," says Lindsay. "It's also exciting to see how wood fibre is being used in new innovative bio-products that also contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."
Specifically the Canadian forest products industry has made significant strides in addressing climate change through:
• The dramatic reduction by pulp and paper mills of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Emissions are down by about 70 per cent since 1990.
• The growing contribution of biomass and renewable energy produced by Canadian mills – enough to power the city of Calgary.
• The use of responsible and progressive forest management. Canada leads the world in third-party certified forests with 163 million hectares or 43 per cent of the global total.
• The recovery and recycling of wood products, with the recovery rate for paper around 70 per cent — one of the highest rates in the world.
For more information about the environmental record of the Canadian forest products industry, go to: www.futureofforestry.ca
FPAC provides a voice for Canada's wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. The $58-billion-a-year forest products industry represents two per cent of Canada's GDP and is one of Canada's largest employers operating in hundreds of communities and providing 235,000 direct jobs across the country.