Region Archives: International

Froggy Foibles

The start-up solving food scarcity by turning sawdust into meals

By Evelyn Blackwell
World
September 17, 2023
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: International

Would you eat industrial byproducts? One food tech company from Estonia certainly hopes so. Think about sawdust. Eating it is probably the last thing that comes into your mind, but that may be about to change. ÄIO, set up in 2022, has created a way of producing fats and oils from industrial waste “What we have developed is very similar to brewing beer, where yeast is used to convert sugars from barley into alcohol, and hops are added for taste,” Petri-Jaan Lahtvee said. “We are using a different type of yeast that coverts sugars from industrial sidestreams, but not into ethanol – into fats and oils instead,” he added. …Timber, agricultural byproducts like straw, and even food waste, can be turned into ingredients for the food or cosmetic industries.

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Business & Politics

VIDA to acquire Sawmill in Ingarp, Sweden

By Canfor Corporation
Cision Newswire
September 25, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, International

VANCOUVER, BC — VIDA AB, owned 70% by Canfor Corporation, announces it will acquire a 50 million board foot sawmill from Ingarp Träskydd for 50 million SEK (CAD$6.0 million). The sawmill has the potential for expansion to 100 million board feet and the transaction is expected to close on October 3, 2023. The strategic acquisition marks a continued investment in the area around Vida’s sawmills in Hjältevad and Vimmerby.

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Southern Forest Products Association intel on the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation

By Eric Gee, Executive Director
The Southern Forest Products Association
September 26, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

Eric Gee

As part of the European Union’s efforts to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, the European Parliament and Council formally adopted the European Union (EU) Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) on June 29, 2023. Among the biggest concerns in the current EUDR language is the geolocation requirement and the definition of “plot of land” as “within a single real-estate property.” The SFPA and its international consultants are closely monitoring the EUDR and its requirements to identify how Southern Pine lumber manufacturers can adjust their operations to comply with the new legislation. SFPA has developed a full length analysis and one-page summary to explain the legislation and how it could impact lumber producer operations. 

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International Paper sells Russian JV stake to local shareholders -Ilim Group

Reuters
September 18, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

International Paper has sold its 50% stake in a Russia-based joint venture to Russian shareholders, its JV partner Ilim Group said on Monday. Ilim named Ilim Global Timber Rus, owned by Zakhar Smushkin and Boris Zingarevich, as the buyer and said the transaction has obtained all required regulatory approvals. Scores of companies have sold or abandoned assets in Russia since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. British paper and packaging company Mondi on Monday said it had agreed to sell its largest plant in Russia to a unit of Moscow-based real estate developer Sezar Group for 80 billion roubles ($825.7 million) in cash. Ilim, a leading Russian pulp and paper producer, said control over former JV assets had been transferred to the Russian shareholders as a result of the transaction.

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Smurfit WestRock merger will bring important changes to paper packaging markets

By Derek Mahlburg
RISI Fastmarkets
September 14, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

WestRock and Smurfit Kappa announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement. …In our view, this deal will bring important changes to paper packaging markets throughout the Americas and solidifies international consolidation as a major supply trend for global packaging. Although it is tempting to view the combination as a significant increase in global market concentration, the combined company will have a global containerboard market share of just over 6%. For comparison, the global market shares of leading pulp producers are 9-12% for the very largest softwood kraft pulp producers. …Nonetheless, the prospect of cross-border ties offers significant advantages, which can partly be seen in each company’s already diverse portfolio of paper packaging offerings. …The combination of assets will give Smurfit WestRock an estimated Mexican market share of 36%. Thus, the Mexican market has the potential to present some of the most significant obstacles to the merger.

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New European Forest Institute Director appointed

The European Forest Institute
September 20, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

Robert Mavsar

Dr Robert Mavsar has been appointed as the new Director of European Forest Institute (EFI) and will start his 5-year term on 1 January 2024. The decision was made by the EFI Board and the EFI Council gave its assent to the appointment. The EFI Director is based at the Institute’s Headquarters in Joensuu, Finland. Chair of the Board Prof. Marco Marchetti said: “I am sure that Dr Mavsar will act to consolidate and further develop the Institute, improving relations with EFI member organisations and Member Countries, as well as guaranteeing innovation and global outreach in a European context.” For the past eight and a half years, Dr Mavsar has worked first as Deputy Director and most recently as Interim Director of EFI. During this time, he has been responsible for the development and coordination of EFI’s research activities, and for the operational development and management of the institute.

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Hans Sohlström appointed new President & CEO of Stora Enso

By Stora Enso
Cision Newswire
September 18, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

Hans Sohlström

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — The Board of Directors of Stora Enso Oyj has appointed Hans Sohlström, as the new President and CEO as of today. Hans Sohlström is currently a member of Stora Enso’s Board of Directors from which position he is stepping down. Hans Sohlström has over 30 years of experience in business leadership, including over 10 years as CEO predominantly in the forest and renewable materials industries. Most recently he led Ahlstrom Corporation, Ahlström Capital and Rettig Group. Prior to that, for over 20 years, he held several leadership positions at UPM-Kymmene Corporation. …Annica Bresky leaves her position as the President and CEO to pursue new challenges outside of Stora Enso.

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Metsä Group’s Kemi, Finland mills come into production

Metsä Group
September 20, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

KEMI, Finland –The largest investment of the forest industry in Finland – the new Kemi bioproduct mill and the paperboard mill expansion – came into operation as planned on Wednesday 20 September 2023. The operations will start department by department. Pulp deliveries from the new mill to customers will begin in October 2023. …The Kemi bioproduct mill produces 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp annually. It uses zero fossil fuels and will be completely waste-free by 2030. …The bioproduct mill will use 7.6 million cubic metres of wood per year, 4.5 million cubic metres more than the old mill. …The modernisation and bottleneck investments made in Kemi paperboard mill will increase the annual production capacity of white top kraftliner by around 40,000 tonnes to 465,000 tonnes.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Re-opened Borders Bring B.C. Value-added Producers Rushing Back to the Japan Home & Building Show

By Kit Crowe
BC Forestry Innovation Investment
September 22, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, International

Since BC Wood opened its Japan office several decades ago, national trade shows at Tokyo Big Sight have been the association’s main venue for bringing together Canadian suppliers with Japanese buyers. Many value-added manufacturers plan their sales trips and promotions around these shows and Japanese customers know that they can meet new suppliers in the Canadian pavilion. As a result, the COVID-19 border closures created a significant barrier to BC Wood’s marketing efforts in this key market. Despite border closures, the BC Wood Japan office continued to exhibit on behalf of Canadian industry at every national trade show, utilizing Zoom and other online tools to directly connect Canadian and Japanese companies. Entry restrictions were lifted in October 2022, just in time for the signature Japan Home & Building Show. After being away for almost three years, seven B.C. value-added manufacturers attended the event for the opportunity to reconnect with clients face-to-face. 

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Superlimão uses mass timber for the “most sustainable McDonald’s in Brazil”

By Kate Mazade
Dezeen Magazine
September 26, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Local architecture office Superlimão Studio has created a lifted building with a tree-like structure constructed using mass timber for a McDonald’s restaurant in São Paulo.   Located at one of the busiest intersections of São Paulo, the 2,150-square foot (220-square metre) building is part of the American fast food chain’s “Recipe for the Future” initiative and was completed in 2023.  …Superlimão Studio employed cross-laminated timber (CLT) pillars with diagonal branching bracing to overcome the maximum spans of the materials to reinforce a  “connection with nature and the sustainability theme throughout the project,” the team said.  …The design uses engineered wood from floor to ceiling that can be seen from the street through glass curtain walls and exposed to occupants through an opening in the finish layers.

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Inside McDonald’s Hong Kong’s new Leed zero-carbon restaurant

By Irene Dong
Inside Retail Asia
September 26, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

McDonald’s has refurbished and turned its Tai Wo site in Hong Kong into a more sustainable place, strengthening its environmental commitment. The Tai Wo location recently became Hong Kong’s first Leed Zero Carbon restaurant, and the design is estimated to save 848.22 metric tonnes of CO2 at the restaurant, which is comparable to planting more than 36,000 16-foot-tall trees. According to the company, the outside facade is made from local trees that have fallen due to typhoons or old age, owing to a collaboration with eco-social startup HK Timberbank. The furniture and decor on the inside are produced from recycled materials. …It also includes a new collection of Happy Meal books and colouring games teaching young diners about environmental protection, from energy conservation to lowering carbon emissions.

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Wood waste transformed into transparent, anti-fog coating

By Paul McClure
The New Atlas
September 26, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Researchers have developed a quick and easy way to turn the wood-based bioproduct lignin into nanoparticles that can create a transparent coating with anti-fog properties or a colorful antireflective surface. The discovery transforms this abundant waste product into a useful material with diverse applications, such as on glasses and vehicle windows. …One of the barriers to using lignin is its complicated molecular structure, which makes it difficult to break down. Now, researchers from Aalto University in Finland have developed a method of turning lignin into a bio-based transparent coating with anti-fogging and antireflective properties. …The small size of the particles enabled the researchers to control layer thickness and appearance, from transparent sub-monolayers to multilayered films, which allowed them to control the color and absorbance of light at different wavelengths. 

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Dellekamp Schleich uses trusses for “Mexico’s largest mass-timber building”

By Ben Dreith
Dezeen Magazine
September 25, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

MEXICO CITY — Local architecture studio Dellekamp Schleich has created an office building in Mexico City that it says is the country’s largest and tallest mass-timber structure to “set an example for innovative construction methods”. Called El Jardín Anatole, the 940-square-metre structure was placed in the former courtyard of a historic house in a residential neighbourhood in Mexico City. The four-storey office and retail building has a structure that consists almost completely of engineered timber derived from oak trees from the north of Mexico, except for a dramatic V-shaped steel truss at ground level and concrete used for the elevator and stairwells. In a country where concrete and stone are widely used for architecture, the studio wanted to “explore the potential of lighter construction materials”. …Mexico City is subject to earthquakes, so the studio wanted to make sure that it created a solid, flexible structure that could withstand seismic activity.

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World’s oldest wooden structure defies Stone-Age stereotypes

By Gabriel Spitzer
National Public Radio
September 22, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

The find didn’t look like much at first – basically a log, lying crosswise over another log.  “It didn’t look particularly exciting,” says Larry Barham, professor of archaeology at the University of Liverpool. “But when you look closely and you remove the sand around it, you can see where one sits on top of the other is a notch.”  That notch suggested that the logs had been manipulated by human beings – extraordinarily ancient ones, who once frequented this site above the dramatic 772-foot Kalambo Falls in Zambia.  Later analysis of the logs would reveal telltale signs of having been cut, chopped and shaped by human tools.  …We know very little about how early humans worked with wood because so few of the artifacts survive.  … The team carefully excavated five different wood objects and set about dating them. …They found three different periods of human occupation: 476,000, 390,00 and 324,000 years ago.

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Oslotre completes a mass-timber, mixed-use development with columns and beams made of glued laminated timber

Global Design News
September 25, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

KRISTIANSAND, Norway — Lumber 4 by Olso-based architectural practice Oslotre is a commercial and office building spanning six floors constructed using a composite structure of CLT and concrete, creating a slim and efficient floor system that spans long distances while also addressing fire and acoustic requirements. A recessed ground floor constitutes the commercial level, with the five floors above dedicated to office spaces. Diagonals on the ground floor facilitate better vehicular access around the building. The existing communication core from adjacent building phases contributes to lateral stability and access to the office floors. Between the third and fourth floors, an atrium with an internal staircase made of mass timber has been introduced. Wood elements are prominently displayed in the interior, providing warmth in winter and cooling in summer. The façade is composed of prefabricated curved wooden elements in pine, treated with green paint. …The insulation used throughout is wood fiber. The cladding consists of fire-treated pine.

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Half-million-year-old wooden structure unearthed in Zambia

By Victoria Gill
BBC Science and Environment
September 21, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

The discovery of ancient wooden logs in the banks of a river in Zambia has changed archaeologists’ understanding of ancient human life. Researchers found evidence the wood had been used to build a structure almost half a million years ago. The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest stone-age people built what may have been shelters. …The discovery could transform the current belief ancient humans led simple, nomadic lives. …The researchers also uncovered ancient wooden tools, including digging sticks. …Further analysis confirmed the logs were about 476,000 years old. Until now, evidence for the human use of wood has been limited to making fire and crafting tools such as digging sticks and spears. …It is also unclear what species of ancient human – or hominid – built it. The timber is much older than the earliest modern human – or Homo sapien – fossils, which are about 315,000 years old.

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Bonding wood with uncondensed lignins as adhesives

By Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
Nature
September 18, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Products like plywood are made of veneers that are bonded together with adhesives such as urea–formaldehyde and phenol–formaldehyde resins. Researchers in academia and industry have long aimed to synthesize lignin–phenol–formaldehyde resin adhesives using biomass-derived lignin, a phenolic polymer that can be used to substitute the petroleum-derived phenol. However, lignin–phenol–formaldehyde resin adhesives are less attractive to plywood manufacturers than urea–formaldehyde and phenol–formaldehyde resins owing to their appearance and cost. Here we report a simple and practical strategy for preparing lignin-based wood adhesives from lignocellulosic biomass. Our strategy involves separation of uncondensed or slightly condensed lignins from biomass followed by direct application of a suspension of the lignin and water as an adhesive on wood veneers. Plywood products with superior performances could be prepared with such lignin adhesives at a wide range of hot-pressing temperatures, enabling the use of these adhesives as promising alternatives to traditional wood adhesives in different market segments.

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New Leadership and New Horizons for WoodSolutions

WoodSolutions Australia
September 19, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Australia — Exciting ventures are on the horizon for WoodSolutions. Starting with introducing the newly appointed Head of Built Environment Programs & WoodSolutions Program lead, Kevin Peachey. Kevin was previously the Statistics and Economics Manager at Forest & Wood Products Australia and formerly worked with Australian Forest Products Association, Timber Towns Victoria, and the National Timber Councils Association. He has a great passion and understanding of wood products and is enthusiastic to lead the WoodSolutions Team. He will also continue in his role as Chair of the Resilient Timber Housing Program. Kevin is excited to announce the 6-month advisory role of Karl-Heinz Weiss, director of Weiss Insights, known for his pioneering work in engineered timber for the design and construction sectors in the UK, Europe, and Australia. They will evaluate and further develop the WoodSolutions strategy and objectives. 

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Recycled plastic lumber: A more sustainable alternative to timber

Jonathon Pearce, Centraforce UK
PBCToday
September 15, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

[A not so convincing pitch by a recycled plastic lumber producer: Tree Frog Editor] A study found that 97% of people working in the construction industry believed air quality was an ‘important’ environmental concern. With the growing concern among workers, we need to put on a united effort to reduce the industry’s impact on the environment. Perhaps it may come as a surprise to some, but timber is not as ethical a construction material as you may think. Disadvantages to the use of timber in construction: 1. Deforestation, 2. Loss of biodiversity, 3. Increased carbon emissions. Thankfully, sustainable timber alternatives made from recycled plastics are increasingly available, offering improved durability without the need for mass deforestation – protecting the planet and even outperforming traditional timber. …Despite being a fairly new and innovative material, recycled plastic alternatives to timber are becoming increasingly popular and already being used in nature reserves, outdoor decking and seating – the possibilities for their use are always growing.

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Forestry

Wildfires turn Canada’s vast forests from carbon sink into super-emitter

By Leyland Cecco
The Guardian
September 22, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, International

Emissions from Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season are probably triple the country’s annual carbon footprint, experts warn, as climate systems reach a “tipping point”. The trajectory of the country’s wildfires has raised questions about how Canada can better tackle the blazes – and whether the issue is a global problem as nations race to reduce the volume of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Werner Kurz, a recently retired scientist with Natural Resources Canada, estimates nearly 2bn tonnes of carbon have already been released into the atmosphere from the record-breaking wildfire season, which federal officials warn could persist into the winter. …The figure far exceeds all of the emissions tied to Canada’s economy each year, which emit a total of 670m tonnes. …“We could shut down our economy to zero emissions, and we would still have all these wildfire emissions,” said Kurz.

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West Kelowna fire chief’s harrowing tale opens eyes at United Nations

The Canadian Press in the Penticton Western News
September 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, International

Jason Brolund

The federal government is hoping Canada’s devastating wildfire season sparks momentum for carbon pricing at the United Nations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the big draw at a UN event Wednesday aimed at encouraging countries to put a price on pollution. But two of the heroes from a fearsome summer of wildfires ended up stealing the show. West Kelowna fire Chief Jason Brolund’s harrowing story of a 36-hour battle to keep the flames out of his B.C. city earned a partial standing ovation. …Trudeau used the moment to promote carbon pricing as a way for the leaders of UN member countries to stand by their first responders. It was “36 hours that felt like 100 years,” Brolund said as he described his marathon shift in mid-August fighting the blazes that were threatening his community in the B.C. Interior.

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The threat of wildfires is rising. So are new artificial intelligence solutions to fight them

By Kelvin Chan
The Associated Press in ABC News
September 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, International

Wildfires fueled by climate change have… fuelled demand for new solutions. Enter artificial intelligence. Firefighters and startups are using AI-enabled cameras to scan the horizon for signs of smoke. …California’s main firefighting agency this summer started testing an AI system that looks for smoke from more than 1,000 mountaintop camera feeds and is now expanding it statewide. The system is designed to find “abnormalities” and alert emergency command centers, where staffers will confirm whether it’s indeed smoke or something else in the air. …The cameras use computer vision machine learning, a type of AI. …Ferres’ team at Microsoft has been developing AI models to predict where fires are likely to start. …The technology, which Microsoft plans to offer as an open source tool, can help first responders trying to figure out where to focus their limited resources, Ferres said. …German startup OroraTech analyzes satellite images with artificial intelligence.

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AI, Robots and Satellite Sensors Are Helping in the Fight Against Wildfires

By Coco Liu
BNN Bloomberg Technology
September 25, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, International

This year has been a challenging one for Phil Schneider, who hasn’t seen wildfire behavior like this in his 47-year firefighting career. Blazes raged through more than 2,000 acres of wildland in recent months in his county deep in the woods of Oregon, where a wet climate once made forest fires unthinkable. That’s an increasingly common scene around the world — from Canada to Greece, global warming has helped fuel larger and more destructive blazes, pushing firefighting services to the brink. But Schneider has a new recruit to help manage the growing risks: artificial intelligence. “It’s a huge game changer for the fire service,” says Schneider of the technology created by Pano AI, which acts as a second set of eyes looking out for fires. While AI alone won’t completely ease the burden of wildfire management, it’s one of a growing number of tools firefighters have at their disposal to detect and combat blazes.

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Brazil Risks Losing Soy Sales to Europe Over Forestry Compliance

By Agnieszka de Sousa
Bloomberg Investing
September 25, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The world’s top soy exporter Brazil is at risk of losing ground in key European Union markets as limited data will make it hard for traders to prove compliance with forest-protection laws. From 2025, the EU will require traders and companies to prove that soy and other commodities don’t come from lands affected by legal or illegal deforestation. The regulations also require imports to comply with local environmental laws, in Brazil’s case the Forest Code. Research from Trase and Instituto Centro de Vida shows traders will struggle to prove that soy from the Amazon and Cerrado complies with that code. A total 74% of the soy from the two regions was grown on farms that either didn’t comply with the regulations, or, in the absence of clear data, showed signs of potential breaches of the code. The EU is the second-biggest buyer of Brazilian soy, after China. 

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Scientists debunk Leonardo da Vinci’s influential ‘Rule of Trees’

By Tibi Puiu
ZME Science
September 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Leonardo da Vinci is a name synonymous with the Renaissance, remarkable for his contributions to art, engineering, and anatomy. But did you know that this prodigious polymath also dipped his toes into the realm of botany? Among Leonardo’s “Codex” lies an observation that’s come to be known as “Leonardo da Vinci’s rule of trees.” Simply put, this rule posits that the total cross-sectional area of a tree’s branches is equal to the cross-sectional area of its trunk. Penned more than 500 years ago, the rule of trees was almost immediately adopted by scientists who were seduced by such an elegant observation. To this day, da Vinci’s rule of trees is still taken by many at face value as true. However, a new study has found that, while valid in some respects, the rule of trees isn’t exactly correct when applied to the internal vascular structures of trees.

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Welcome to Forest Stewardship Council Forest Week 2023

Forest Stewardship Council
September 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

From 23 to 29 September, we are highlighting the importance of healthy forests. Thriving forests are key to our fight against the climate and biodiversity crises. To achieve our vision of healthy and resilient forests that sustain life on Earth, it is critical to raise awareness and inspire responsible actions that positively impact our environment. This year’s theme shows the social and environmental benefits of FSC certification, encouraging us to help tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. Choosing FSC-certified products helps safeguard biodiversity and protect endangered species. Together, let’s make a lasting impact. …Join us on social media this week to share your love for forests and inspire others to act, too. We can all be forest stewards, promoting a world where forests are cared for and protected. Start by following us and amplifying our message.

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South America is a leader on tree planting – but just two species dominate

By Matias Avramow
Diálogo Chino
September 21, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The world is increasingly hearing a simple mantra for mitigating the climate crisis: plant trees. Forests are our largest terrestrial sinks for carbon dioxide. In 2018, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that significant afforestation can contribute to efforts to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5C. Hundreds of millions of hectares of new trees would be needed for this. South America is among the world’s leading regions in plantation forestry, with the second largest area of tree plantations globally, behind only Asia, concentrated in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. However, even though 15% of the world’s approximately 131 million hectares of tree plantations are in South America, they have neither helped to solve the region’s deforestation problems, nor proven greatly effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is because South America’s tree plantations are almost exclusively for industry and are, in most cases, based around pine or eucalyptus monocultures. 

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Animals are shrinking, researchers say — and that could affect the boreal forest

By Caitrin Pilkington
CBC News
September 19, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Inês Martins

A new study published in the journal Science suggests that body size in many species across the animal kingdom is declining. Researchers reviewed 60 years of data from all over the world and discovered that all kinds of species, from fish to plants and animals, are shrinking over time. Not only are some species smaller than they used to be, but those smaller species seem to be increasingly outcompeting bigger ones. The researchers looked at 5,000 ecosystems over those 60 years, and found significant changes in 4,300 unique species. As ecosystems are often structured in terms of species’ size — big animals eat smaller animals which in turn prey on smaller animals — this may present a serious disruption, according to the authors of the study. “As organisms become smaller, or we remove the top predators, we can expect ecosystems to fundamentally change as well,” said lead researcher Inês Martins, from Scotland’s University of St. Andrews.

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Global Brands Partner with Forest Stewardship Council to Engage Shoppers in Forest Protection

By Forest Stewardship Council
Newsfile
September 18, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Bonn, Germany – The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – committed to protecting the world’s forests through sustainable forestry – is holding its second annual Forest Week from 23 to 29 September 2023. This global campaign will see individuals and businesses coming together to help safeguard the world’s forests, and those that depend on them, by making positive shopping choices. This year’s theme, Trust the Tree, will shed light on the key role forests play in fighting the climate and biodiversity crises. Forest Week will see daily content across leading social platforms for the seven days of the campaign. This will be complemented by events and special partnerships with schools and organizations dedicated to safeguarding forests worldwide. Last year, Forest Week 2022 saw more than 1,200 partners from over 40 countries actively participate in the campaign, reaching 42 million consumers worldwide.

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Logging ‘carnage’ in endangered greater glider habitat

By Nick O’Malley
Sydney Morning Herald
September 17, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

New images have emerged of what one conservation group chief describes as the “gut-wrenching carnage” of logging inside the habitat of the endangered greater glider in the Tallaganda State Forest just outside Canberra, as environmental groups call on the NSW government to extend recent logging bans.  ….Over the weekend the World Wide Fund for Nature flew over the logged area with independent Senator David Pocock to inspect the damage to the forest. “It appears they’ve taken 80 to 90 per cent of the trees. Greater gliders rely on tree hollows that can take 150 years to develop and it didn’t look like there were many big old trees left,” said Pocock after the flight.  …The former NSW Environment Minister and current chair of Wilderness Australia, Bob Debus, has written to the EPA and Sharpe calling for them to extend logging moratoriums to all identified habitat of endangered species such as the greater glider.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Canadian fire chiefs deliver climate change message to United Nations following devastating season

By Jason Peters
CBC News
September 21, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, International

A pair of Canadian fire chiefs were in New York this week to speak at a United Nations conference on climate change. West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund and Halifax assistant chief Sherry Dean were invited by the Canadian government to address delegates at an event focused on carbon pricing and the impacts of warming global temperatures. Brolund focused on his experience fighting massive wildfires in the B.C. Interior this summer, describing the “toughest three days of his career” as entire neighbourhoods burned. …Brolund said firefighters are now battling blazes “on a scope and scale that’s nearly impossible for us to be successful against,” in part because of a changing climate leading to conditions that make it easier for fires to burn and grow. …Sherry Dean, assistant chief of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, gave an account of what she called an “extraordinary year” of fire activity in Nova Scotia.

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Minister Guilbeault takes Canada’s climate policy ambition to the United Nations in New York

By Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada
Cision Newswire
September 18, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, International

Steven Guibeault

GATINEAU, Quebec – As Canadians continue to be impacted by the devastating effects of climate-related wildfires, floods, and extreme weather events this year, the Government of Canada is accelerating efforts to cut carbon pollution at the pace and scale needed to keep the 1.5°Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement within reach. …Steven Guilbeault, Minister, will be in New York City from September 18 to 22, 2023, to participate in the United Nations General Assembly’s Climate Ambition Summit and a week of high-level engagements. In response to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Canada will share its progress on the implementation of the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, and its efforts to cut plastic pollution and protect biodiversity.

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New forestry levy slated by industry

Farmers Weekly
September 25, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

NEW ZEALAND – Forest owners are furious over new charges being levied for forestry registered in the Emissions Trading Scheme. The government has announced a new $30.25 per hectare charge for forests, as well as new fees for 22 services, such as changing the classification of exotic or indigenous areas and asking for more time to collect forest measurements. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said the principle behind the charges is that those benefiting from having forests in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) should pay those charges rather than having them funded by the New Zealand taxpayer. But forestry investment firm Lewis Tucker said the new levy is an indiscriminate tax on the entire forestry sector that has been rammed through by MPI. …The Forest Owners Association (FOA) also hit back, saying the levy is another government disincentive to plant forests when they are most needed. 

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French President Macron unveils latest plan for meeting climate-related commitments in the coming years

By Sylvie Corbet
The Associated Press in PBS Newshour
September 25, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron unveiled plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the country’s climate-related commitments within the next seven years, including via reducing dependency on fossil fuels and boosting electric car use. Macron said France’s goal to reduce its emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels is “attainable”. …Macron confirmed that the country’s two remaining coal-burning plants would cease operating and be converted to biomass energy, which is produced by burning wood, plants and other organic material, by 2027. The coal plants currently represent less than 1 percent of France’s electricity production. The two plants were initially set to close by last year, but the energy crisis prompted by the war in Ukraine and the shutdown of French nuclear reactors for various problems led the government to delay the decision. …Environmental activists have criticized France’s policies as not being ambitious enough.

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COP28 President-Designate to UN Climate Ambition Summit: “We are not powerless” to overcome the climate crisis and urges world to “Get after Gigatons”

By COP28
Cision Newswire
September 20, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber

NEW YORK — Today, COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber addressed the UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York where he reminded the international community that “we are not powerless” to overcome the climate crisis and urged the world to “get after gigatons”. The summit, which is the landmark climate engagement during United Nations General Assembly and was convened by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was attended by world leaders, the private sector and civil society. During his speech, the President-Designate emphasised that “climate change is our common enemy, and we must unite to fight it”. Dr. Al Jaber pointed to recent data from the first Global Stocktake, which confirmed that “the world is falling short, and we are running out of time” but was emphatic in stating that it is not too late to change course. He concluded by calling on leaders to “turn pledges into projects and ambition into action”.

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Could wood chips fill the battery demand hole? Biographite start-up hopes to find out

By Rachel Williamson
Renew Economy
September 20, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Kiwi company Carbonscape has won $18 million to commercialise its graphite-made-from-wood technology in Europe and the US, in the hopes it will catch the eye of a sustainability-minded battery maker. Finnish company Stora Enso, which has a “hard carbon” product on its books already, and Hong Kong-based battery maker Amperex Technology led the round. Carbonscape is looking to commercialise the heavily patented technology, which puts wood chips from forestry industries through a low-temperature catalytic process to turn them into graphite. The process being increasingly explored by researchers in the field is using an iron catalyst for turning wood into graphite, which is removed and recycled to use again using an acid wash.

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Revealed: top carbon offset projects may not cut planet-heating emissions

By Nina Lakhani
The Guardian
September 19, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

The vast majority of the environmental projects most frequently used to offset greenhouse gas emissions appear to have fundamental failings suggesting they cannot be relied upon to cut planet-heating emissions, according to a new analysis.  …But there is mounting evidence suggesting that many of these offset schemes exaggerate climate benefits and underestimate potential harms.  …The 50 most popular global projects include forestry schemes, hydroelectric dams, solar and wind farms, waste disposal and greener household appliances schemes across 20 (mostly) developing countries, according to data from AlliedOffsets, the most comprehensive emissions trading database which tracks projects from inception.  …According to our research, more than a third of the top 50 projects had some evidence of three or more fundamental failings. …Four carbon markets experts said the findings were based on solid methodology and shine a light on the pitfalls of market-driven climate solutions which can enable polluters to keep polluting instead of transitioning off fossil fuels.

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World needs $2.7 trillion annually for net zero emissions by 2050, Wood Mackenzie report says

By Nina Chestney
Reuters
September 14, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

LONDON – Global investment of $2.7 trillion a year is needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and avoid temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, a report by consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday. Scientists have said the world ideally needs to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5C this century to avoid catastrophic effects from climate change. Many governments have pledged to reduce emissions to net zero by mid-century to help achieve this. However, most countries are not on track to even meet emissions targets by 2030, let alone 2050, the report said. …Renewables such as wind and solar power need to become the world’s main source of power supply to support the electrification of transport and production of green hydrogen, the report said.

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Health & Safety

On pawtrol: Sparky the Robodog enhances safety at UK’s largest renewable power station

Drax Group Inc.
September 27, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: International

Drax Power Station, Britain’s single-largest renewable power generator, has a new four-legged friend to help sniff out hazards to keep people safe. Sparky, a state-of-the-art robotic dog, has joined the plant and will carry out inspections and capture critical data on machinery. The robodog has joined Drax’s Condition Based Maintenance team to spot potential failures on the plant before they happen. The bright yellow dog is fitted with a camera which enables it to conduct critical visual and thermal inspections on equipment such as hot boilers while its human controllers are kept safe away from the equipment. As Sparky gets familiar with the plant, he will be programmed to follow tailored routes around the site. This will enable him to operate autonomously, enhancing efficiency even further. Ensuring the safety, health, and wellbeing of people on site is the company’s top priority. 

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Forest Fires

Algeria battles new wave of forest fires amid heatwave

The New Arab
September 18, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

Major forest blazes broke out in Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou provinces in northern Algeria on Friday, two months after huge areas of woodland in the North African country were devastated in fires sparked by a heatwave. While the flames in Tizi Ouzou were tackled by firefighters, the battle to control forest fires in Bejaia continues. Fires were reported in the Mahoui forest near the town of Tichy on the outskirts on Bejaia city, and another in the Ash Al-Baz forest in Bejaia province, according to a statement released on Saturday by the Civil Defence. A third fire was reported in the forest of Igdasn village in Tizi Ouzou province.

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