Wood and Paper Products Store Greenhouse Gases The story of carbon in wood and paper products A portion of the carbon that trees remove from the atmosphere remains fixed in wood and paper products throughout their useful lives. Wood and paper products are part of a sustainable production and consumption cycle.
Wood and Paper Products Store Greenhouse Gases Introduction The world s forests and the wood and paper products that come from them are unique in their ability to remove and store carbon dioxide. The international forest and paper industry plays a critical climate role because of the ability of forests to remove carbon dioxide the main greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and store it. The carbon stored in trees continues to be stored in forest products. The renewable nature of forests, the ability to recover and recycle forest products, and the industry s strong reliance on biomass fuels makes the wood and paper industry a key player in finding climate solutions. Forests Remove Carbon Dioxide Forests play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Well-managed forests, improvements in their productivity and the creation of new forests provide a powerful mechanism for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Globally there are 3.9 billion hectares of closed canopy forests storing billions of tonnes of carbon above and below ground. Known as "carbon sequestration," the process begins when growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and emit oxygen. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 12 to 15% of the projected greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels (up until the year 2050) could be offset by forests. Although the forest industry owns a relatively small percentage of the world s forests, the industry plays a major role in promoting and supporting sustainable forest management on all forestlands. Members of the forest products industry have developed practices that demonstrate the commitment of the forest-based industry to maintaining the long-term management of forest resources. Over 110 million hectares of forestlands are certified by sustainable forest management programs. This total includes third-party audited forests under two international systems and over 40 other national systems.
Forests Products Store Carbon Dioxide A portion of the carbon that trees remove from the atmosphere remains fixed in wood and paper products throughout their useful lives. Wood and paper products are part of a sustainable production and consumption cycle. The harvesting and manufacturing of forest products essentially transfers carbon from one carbon pool the forests to another carbon pool the product pool. The IPCC recognizes that the carbon contained in these products continues to be sequestered from the atmosphere, and in some cases such as building materials products remain in use for very long periods of time. As worldwide demand for forest products increases, the amount of carbon stored in the product pool increases, thus removing carbon from the atmosphere and offsetting global greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that the wood and paper products produced by the global forest products industry in 2000 contained 290 million metric tonnes of carbon.* *IPCC Technical Paper #FCCC/TP/2003/7 A significant amount of this carbon remains sequestered in products for at least 100 years, in effect permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere. Sequestration of atmospheric carbon is a unique feature of forest products that is not found in other materials. Current data indicate that the amount of carbon sequestered in wood products during use ranges from 5 to 25% of the carbon in the original material. Additionally, paper and paperboard products store up to 7% of original carbon. This represents a significant amount of carbon stored in products that meet societal needs, contribute to economic wealth, and offset a sizeable portion of the emissions generated by the production of these needed goods. Product sequestration is an important component of the industry s carbon balance. Depending on the product involved, the amount of carbon sequestered in wood and paper products can be as high as 25% of the carbon in the original material. Recycling Extends the Life of Products Recovering wood and fiber for recycling is another part of the industry s balanced carbon cycle. Recycling reduces emissions from landfills, thus avoiding methane emissions. Recovering wood and fiber for recycling brings further climate benefits. Wood and paper products are used and re-used by society for long periods of time, and this long-term use sustains the reservoir of carbon contained in products. The forest products industry s efforts to recover increasing amounts of wood and fiber also lead to corresponding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Recycling used wood and paper, instead of sending it to landfills, reduces emissions of methane and carbon dioxide. The wood and paper products industry has significantly increased its paper recycling activities. Worldwide the industry s rates of fiber recovery as a percentage of domestic consumption are high, ranging from 40 to almost 60%. In the woodbased panel industry, less than 20% of the raw material is virgin wood.
Wood and Paper Products Store Greenhouse Gases Manufacturing and Energy Savings The paper industry has significantly improved its energy efficiency over the last decade. Regionally, greenhouse gas emissions from the pulp and paper industry declined by 7 to 36% per tonne between 1990 and 2000. Use of Renewable Energy: Biomass Biomass is a major energy source for the forestbased industry, accounting for more than 50% of the total energy consumption in Europe, Canada and the US. As the world s population has grown and living standards have improved, demand for paper products has also grown, adding value to the lives of an increasing number of people. However, over the past decade there has been a reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per tonne of production. Regionally, greenhouse gas emissions from the pulp and paper industry declined by 7 to 36% per tonne between 1990 and 2000. The decline was brought about by greater energy efficiency in manufacturing processes, switching to lower carbon emitting fuels, and increasing the use of biomass fuels. In Japan for instance, specific energy consumption declined by 44% between 1970 and 1990. Energy-rich biomass derived from wood chips, bark, sawdust and pulping liquors recovered from the harvesting and manufacturing processes is atmospheric carbon dioxide sequestered by trees during growth and transformed into carbon. When biomass fuels are burned, the carbon dioxide emitted is the atmospheric carbon dioxide that was sequestered during tree growth. The IPCC has stated that emissions from biomass do not add to atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. The forest-carbon cycle is a closed loop, as new tree growth will once again absorb this carbon dioxide. The industry is committed to further improve its energy efficiency. However, early action taken by the industry has been effective, and additional efforts will be challenging.
Wood and Paper Products Store Greenhouse Gases Wood and Paper Products are Part of the Carbon Cycle The forest products industry s production/consumption cycle is a unique extension of the natural carbon cycle. Using water, nutrients, and carbon dioxide, photosynthesis transforms solar energy into wood fibers in growing trees. During the growing process, trees take up carbon dioxide from the air and emit oxygen. Wood and paper products produced from trees continue the storage of carbon dioxide in some cases for decades or longer. Once products are consumed, they may start a new life when collected as a secondary raw material or as an energy source. In this way the forest and paper carbon cycle is closed and balanced. The forest and paper industry strongly recommends that climate policies recognize this carbon cycle, which can be used to benefit the environment in a sustainable manner. The industry s contribution to renewable energy production must be recognized. Wood and paper products should be utilized and recycled as useful products for as long as possible. Products should not be recovered for burning until the end of their useful life. To capture the full carbon sequestration benefits of wood and paper products, they must be promoted broadly for use in society and as construction materials.
AF&PA American Forest & Paper Association www.afandpa.org info@afandpa.org APIC Australian Paper Industry Council www.apic.asn.au info@apic.asn.au CEI-Bois European Confederation of Woodworking Industries www.cei-bois.org info@cei-bois.org CEPI Confederation of European Paper Industries www.cepi.org mail@cepi.org CORMA Corporación Chilena de la Madera www.corma.cl corma@corma.cl FPAC Forest Products Association of Canada www.fpac.ca ottawa@fpac.ca JPA Japan Paper Association www.jpa.gr.jp masaotaniguchi@jpa.gr.jp PAMSA Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa www.pamsa.co.za john_hunt@pamsa.co.za Graphics by www.karakas.be November 2003