Region Archives: International

Special Feature

Looking Back, Moving Forward: 20 Years of Industry Insights at IPW 2025

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
Tree Frog Forestry News
June 2, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, United States, International

International Pulp Week 2025 opened in Vancouver with a note of celebration and reflection as delegates marked the event’s 20th anniversary. “After decades of being in Montreal in January… we decided to move the event to Vancouver and into the spring and summer months,” said Tim Brown, Vice-President at Numera Analytics. Over the years, Brown noted, the event has drawn participants from more than 50 countries and consistently focused on the industry’s most pressing challenges and opportunities. “It’s an industry that has innovated, adapted, and is one that itself is smarter and more sustainable.” Following Brown’s welcome, he introduced Kevin Mason, Managing Director of ERA Forest Products Research, who returned to the IPW stage to reflect on two decades of transformation in the global pulp sector—and to look ahead.

…Mason highlighting four key developments that have defined the past two decades: “A dramatic rise in demand for market pulp from China… Chinese demand met by massive growth in hardwood capacity in Latin America… hardwood steadily gained share versus softwood… and tissue expanded while printing and writing papers contracted.” Looking ahead, Mason projected the estimated end-use composition of pulp demand in 2040: tissue at 54%, specialty papers at 24%, packaging at 12%, fluff-based products at 7%, and graphic paper at 3%. He also shared a slide titled “Potential Developments Over the Next 20 Years,” listing several scenarios: continued expansion of domestic pulp capacity in China; hardwood gaining further share over softwood (though possibly nearing saturation); and the potential for dramatic growth in specialty papers and packaging—if government policy supports a shift away from plastics.

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Tariffs, Uncertainty, and the US Economic Outlook: A Macro View

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
Tree Frog Forestry News
June 2, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: United States, International

At International Pulp Week 2025, the global macroeconomic backdrop took centre stage in a session led by Joaquin Kritz Lara, Chief Economist and Head of Macro at Numera Analytics. With trade tensions escalating and US tariffs rising sharply, Kritz Lara presented a data-rich assessment of the economic policy shifts reshaping global markets—and what they could mean for business decisions in the months ahead. “This year, the word of the year is ‘uncertainty,’” he said, echoing a sentiment already raised earlier in the conference. …Uncertainty, he stressed, has a clear and measurable impact: “If you’re a corporation, a high level of uncertainty essentially stifles decision-making… You postpone your projects just until you get a little more clarity around the rules of the game.”

For the US, tariffs present a dual threat. “They create uncertainty around growth, but they also create uncertainty around inflation,” he said. The risk, he argued, is stagflation—a combination of slowing economic activity and rising prices. …Kritz Lara cautioned that while inflationary pressures may ease absent new tariffs, markets are likely too optimistic about US growth. “We find a 75% chance that the economy will grow less than what the market expects it to grow next year,” he said. “That will likely reverse the US exceptionalism narrative.” In terms of interest rates, Kritz Lara believes the Fed may end up cutting more than markets expect. “If all those [macro expectations] are weaker than what the market expects, the chances of long-term rates falling are far higher than what the market is anticipating right now,” he said. “So again, this is not to say the debt situation doesn’t matter—but macro matters more.”

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Softwood and Hardwood: Market Signals from Metsä Fibre and Suzano

By Kelly McCloskey, Editor
Tree Frog Forestry News
June 2, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: International

At International Pulp Week, delegates heard directly from two of the world’s largest pulp producers on the state of global fibre markets—one representing softwood, the other hardwood. Mikko Antsalo, Senior Vice President of Sales and Supply Chain at Metsä Fibre, and Leonardo Grimaldi, Executive Vice President of Global Pulp Sales at Suzano, shared contrasting perspectives on supply, demand, and market dynamics across the fibre spectrum. …Mikko Antsalo began by stating, “Softwood pulp markets are projected to remain well-balanced,” citing steady demand growth and the absence of new capacity announcements as stabilizing factors. He concluded by reinforcing Metsä Fibre’s preparedness for the future: “We offer customers an optimized supply chain, fossil-free production, and are well positioned to fulfill upcoming sustainability requirements.”

…Leonardo Grimaldi then shifted focus to hardwood, providing a global view of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp (BHKP) markets from the perspective of Brazil-based Suzano. He closed by showing that BHKP demand-to-capacity ratios are projected to remain under pressure through 2028, but may improve through a combination of fibre substitution, fossil-to-fibre applications, and unexpected supply shortages.

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Emerging Tools in the Pulp Sector: Carbon Removal and EU Deforestation Regulation Compliance

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
Tree Frog Forestry News
June 2, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: International

The final two presentations at Day 2 of International Pulp Week introduced delegates to emerging business and compliance tools with implications for pulp producers globally. One focused on capturing and monetizing biogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂), the other on meeting the fast-approaching requirements of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Jonathan Rhone, CEO of CO280, began by stating that “capturing and permanently sequestering biogenic CO₂ from boiler stack emissions represents a $100 billion per year market opportunity for the global pulp and paper sector.” The market, he said, is being created by global technology and financial firms—“Microsoft, JPMorgan, Google”—that are purchasing high-durability carbon dioxide removals (CDRs) to meet their net zero obligations.

…Parker Budding, representing Osapiens, followed with a presentation on how pulp producers can prepare for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which comes into force on December 31, 2025. The regulation prohibits companies from placing products on the EU market unless they can prove the goods are deforestation-free and legally produced.

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Business & Politics

US Hardwood Plywood Manufacturers File Petition For Antidumping & Countervailing Duties

The Decorative Hardwood’s Association
May 22, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

The Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood has petitioned for antidumping and countervailing duties to counter unfair trade practices by Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. These petitions were filed on Thursday, May 22, with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission and have significant implications for our economy, in which hardwood plywood plays a critical role in producing numerous downstream products. The Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood alleges that the governments of Indonesia, Vietnam, and China are actively subsidizing dozens of programs benefiting their industries, including providing products at subsidized rates and multiple grant, tax, and lending programs. According to the petitions, hardwood and decorative plywood manufacturers in these countries are also dumping their products into the U.S. at discounted prices, with margins of up to 133.7% for Vietnam, 202.8% for Indonesia, and 474.2% for China.

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UPM invests over 10 million euros in UPM Tervasaari mill in Finland

UPM Specialty Papers
May 28, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

UPM Specialty Papers will invest over 10 million euros in the modernization of UPM Tervasaari mill in Valkeakoski, Finland. The investment will allow UPM Specialty Papers to boost capacity and improve production stability in its highly specialized products, such as glassines and flexible packaging papers. …“This investment underscores our commitment to serving customers in the label, tape and industrial value chains as well as packaging,” highlights Tomi Lonka, Senior Vice President, Global Specialty Papers, UPM Specialty Papers. The modernization project includes the paper machine drying section rebuild and related steam system upgrade. The project is expected to be completed at the end of 2026. In recent years UPM has also invested approximately 20 million euros in boosting the energy efficiency of UPM Tervasaari mill. For example, in 2023, a new electric boiler was installed.

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Finland’s Stora Enso to sell 12.4% of Swedish forests for about $1 billion

Stora Enso OYJ
May 21, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

SWEDEN — Stora Enso has entered into an agreement to divest approximately 175,000 hectares of forest land, equivalent to 12.4% of its total forest land holdings in Sweden for an enterprise value of EUR 900 million, equivalent to SEK 9.8 billion. Soya Group, will hold a 40.6% share in the newly formed company, and a MEAG led consortium will hold 44.4% of the shares. …Stora Enso will retain a 15% ownership in the company. Stora Enso and the divested entity will enter into a 15-year wood supply agreement with a possible additional 15-year extension. This will secure wood availability for Stora Enso’s Swedish business units. The new entity will also benefit from a forest management agreement under which Stora Enso will provide forest-related services. …The proceeds from the divestment are expected to reduce Stora Enso’s net debt by EUR 790 million. The transaction is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2025. 

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Rotorua consultant warns of tough times for New Zealand log exports to China

By Steve Edwards
New Zealand Herald
May 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

A construction industry crash in China is sending shockwaves through the timber trade in New Zealand. China has been by far the largest importer of New Zealand logs, 92% in the year to June last year. However, Rotorua-based forestry consultant Jeff Tombleson said China had been “throttling back” on the quantity taken since the country’s property market started contracting in 2021. Mega-infrastructure projects there, such as new cities, ports and railways, were nearing completion, he said. …Tombleson said he hadn’t witnessed such a “negative outlook” for the industry in his 50-year forestry career. …While China was not a huge market for sawn timber from New Zealand, [the sector] is “nervous” about their biggest trading partner – the United States. New Zealand Timber Industry Federation chief executive Jeff Ilott said proposed tariffs on exports of sawn timber from New Zealand to the US were not due to be introduced until later in the year.

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NZ’s timber industry braces for tough times

By Steve Edwards
Sun Media
May 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

A construction industry crash in China is sending shockwaves through the timber trade here. “There’s elephants in the forest,” said Rotorua-based forestry consultant Jeff Tombleson. China was by far the largest importer of New Zealand logs – 92% in the year to June last year. But Tombleson said it had been “throttling back” on the quantity taken since China’s property market started contracting in 2021. Mega-infrastructure projects there such as new cities, ports and railways were nearing completion, he said. He said most of the New Zealand timber exported to China was used on construction sites for concrete-casting (boxing), a technique used in 60% of the country’s multi-storey builds. Since 2019, New Zealand’s isolating export log prices have occasionally “come back” to sub-$100 per cubic metre from an average of $132. At the lower level, he said harvesting for most of the small forests’ estate was not viable and because there was little or no domestic demand, they shut their gates.

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Finance & Economics

US growth forecast cut sharply by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as Trump tariffs sour global outlook

By Sophie Kiderlin
CNBC News
June 3, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States, International

Economic growth forecasts for the US and globally were cut further by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC) as President Trump’s tariff turmoil weighs on expectations. The US growth outlook was downwardly revised to just 1.6% this year and 1.5% in 2026. In March, the OECD was still expecting a 2.2% expansion in 2025. The fallout from Trump’s tariff policy, elevated economic policy uncertainty, a slowdown of net immigration and a smaller federal workforce were cited as reasons for the latest downgrade. Global growth, meanwhile, is also expected to be lower than previously forecast, with the OECD saying that “the slowdown is concentrated in the United States, Canada and Mexico”. “Global GDP growth is projected to slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 2.9% this year and in 2026. It had previously forecast global growth of 3.1% this year and 3% in 2026. …The OECD adjusted its inflation forecast, saying “higher trade costs will also push up inflation.”

Related news in the Financial Post: Canada to take brunt of one of the worst slowdowns since the pandemic, warns OECD

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

From Timber Prices to Carbon Storage: Unpacking Cross-Laminated Timber’s Climate Impact

By Donna Gregory
E+ELeader
May 27, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Global efforts to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are accelerating across industries, and the construction sector is no exception. With buildings responsible for a significant portion of global emissions, sustainable alternatives have come under intense scrutiny. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) has emerged as a promising substitute that not only reduces the carbon footprint associated with conventional materials like steel and concrete, but also contributes to long-term carbon storage. However, as CLT gains traction in mid- and high-rise construction, its full environmental impact—both positive and negative—must be understood. In a recent study, researchers combined economic modeling with a cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment (LCA) to capture the comprehensive climate mitigation potential of CLT. This interdisciplinary framework was designed to quantify both the direct emissions benefits of material substitution and the broader market and ecological reactions that come into play when CLT adoption accelerates.

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Bioregional design: What is it and what will it mean for climate and planet?

The World Economic Forum
May 23, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

…Mass timber provides several key learnings to understand how bioregional design can be developed and scaled. In the early 1990s, cross-laminated timber was invented in Austria, primarily driven by efforts to add value to softwood timber. The process involves glueing layered boards together to create strong, stable panels. Canada was an early adopter in North America, supported by knowledge-sharing with Europe and government-funded projects like the Wood Innovation and Design Centre in British Columbia. The US followed with key projects such as the Framework Building in Portland and T3 in Minneapolis, demonstrating that mass timber is viable for mid-rise and even high-rise buildings. The Canadian National Building Code was updated in 2020 and the American International Building Code was updated in 2021 to allow mass timber buildings up to 18 stories in certain conditions based on these pilot projects.

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The War on Rot: Architects Turn to Science to Future-Proof Wood

By Blaine Brownell
ARCHITECT Magazine
May 23, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

As the popularity of wood-based materials in building construction increases, facade-based applications are becoming more desirable and prevalent. Wood’s susceptibility to decay is a familiar phenomenon, and many established preservation methods exist. However, most wood treatments for external use are problematic from human health and environmental perspectives. Conventional preservation chemicals …contain known hazards. …For these reasons, scientists and manufacturers have been developing alternative techniques that are biocompatible and ecologically friendly, aiming to preserve wood effectively without the drawbacks of harmful chemicals. An established example is acetylation, a process that chemically alters wood to make it water resistant without toxic substances. …A Florida Atlantic University research team has developed a method to elevate the mechanical performance of hardwood as well. The technique strengthens the cell walls of trees by introducing an iron compound into their vascular systems. …Other investigations seek to prevent decay before it begins.

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Wooden Nails Revolutionize Wood-Frame Shear Walls

By Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts
Mirage News
May 17, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Modern architecture increasingly favors timber structures for their sustainability and energy efficiency. However, traditional metal connectors used in these structures often suffer from corrosion and reduced durability. Now, researchers from Nanjing Forestry University have developed an innovative solution using wooden nails, offering a sustainable and durable alternative. The study, published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, investigates the lateral resistance performance of wood-frame shear walls using wooden nail connections. The research team conducted monotonic loading tests on 64 nail joints across eight groups, considering factors such as sheathing panel material (oriented strand board (OSB) and structural plywood (SP)), thickness, nail diameter, spacing, and cap configuration. The results show that wooden nails can significantly enhance the shear-bearing capacity and stiffness of the connections. Specifically, joints with SP sheathing panels exhibited higher shear capacity than those with OSB. Increasing nail diameter and reducing spacing also improved load-bearing capacity and stiffness.

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Forestry

City to be covered by ‘urban forest’ within decade

By Jordan Davies
BBC News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A quarter of a Welsh city will be covered by tree canopies within 10 years due to a new plan to boost its “urban forest”. Almost 30,000 trees will be planted in Newport to supplement about 250,000 existing trees. Wales was the first country in the world to measure its urban tree coverage. The council hopes these trees and others planted by private developers and landowners will take canopy cover in Newport – which at 18% had the highest proportion of any Welsh city in 2016 – to 25%. Joanne Gossage, service manager for environment and leisure at Newport council said the city had “green oasis” parks. She said: “We feel that Newport is a very green city and we don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to get to that 25%. “People’s perception of an urban forest is something dark, perhaps menacing and dingy. It’s not. It’s about trees making attractive frameworks in limited open space.”

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The War on Trees: How Illegal Logging Funds Cartels, Terrorists, and Rogue Regimes

By Justyna Gudzowska and Laura Ferris
Foreign Affairs News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Around the world, nefarious state and nonstate actors are extracting enormous value from forests to fund their operations. The unlawful clearing of land and the harvest, transport, purchase, and sale of timber and related commodities have long been dismissed as a niche concern of environmental activists. But this is a mistake. Although unsustainable deforestation imperils the environment, illegal logging also poses an outsize—and underacknowledged—geopolitical threat. Environmental crime constitutes a growing economic and national security threat to the United States and countries around the world. Yet Washington has largely ignored illegal logging’s role in its fight against transnational criminal organizations, drug cartels, terrorists, and rogue regimes, as well as China’s part in this illicit trade. Thankfully, the blueprint for fighting transnational crime already exists: better cooperation among governments, increased enforcement, more transparent supply chains, public-private partnerships, and most important, following the money.

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Confor welcomes Galloway National Park decision

Timber Trades Journal
June 3, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Stuart Goodall

Confor has welcomed the decision to not designate the Galloway National Park (GNP), as announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands on May 29. Following consultation with its members in the area of the proposed GNP, it was clear that a majority of members did not believe that the Park would bring clear benefits for the sector, or for the rural economy as a whole. Forestry accounts for over a third of the land area in all three options proposed for the Park boundary. A Confor survey of just the largest forestry-related businesses operating in that area and the surrounding buffer zone showed almost £1bn in forestry investment in recent years, with future investment over the next 10 years likely to reach at least £370m. These companies support in excess of 1,200 direct full-time jobs with a contribution to the local economy of around £30m per year. 

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Analyzing the Role of the FSC Across Diverse Economic and Climatic Contexts

By Inoussa Boubacar and Yaya Sissoko
Science Direct
May 31, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

This study investigates the role of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in advancing sustainable forest management and influencing forest cover changes across 70 countries from 2000 to 2021. Using dynamic panel data model and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimations, the analysis addresses endogeneity concerns, such as those stemming from lagged dependent variables, providing robust and unbiased estimates. Results indicate that FSC certification significantly enhances forest cover, with the most pronounced effects observed in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, the study explores how FSC certification interacts with income levels and climatic conditions, revealing region-specific variations in its effects. These findings highlight the importance of market-based conservation tools, such as FSC certification, which align economic incentives with sustainability objectives. The analysis provides practical insights, recommending the integration of FSC certification into responsible trade practices and the development of regionally tailored forest management strategies to maximize conservation outcomes.

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Beyond timber, EU eyes profit potential of sustainable forests

By Xhoi Zajmi
EURACTIV
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

As efforts to combat deforestation intensify, attention is shifting to the sustainable use of forests. In Europe, non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are emerging as valuable, biodiversity-friendly alternatives. …In response, the EU has adopted a deforestation-free regulation, requiring companies to ensure products entering the European market are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation, while also respecting human rights and indigenous land. In FAO’s assessment of the state of the world’s forests in 2024, wood-based goods have historically dominated forest product production and trade, serving as the primary source of income and employment in forestry. …Amid growing awareness of forests’ broader ecological and economic roles, attention is shifting towards NWFPs, which are increasingly seen as sustainable and profitable alternatives. Although still secondary in trade value, NWFPS (medicinal plants, fruits, and resins) are gaining relevance as societies seek more diverse and ecologically responsible uses of forest resources.

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EU Deforestation Regulation Country Benchmarking Misses the Mark

By Kerstin Canby and Marigold Walkins
Forest Trends
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

On May 22, the European Commission released its long-awaited country benchmarking classifications under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). …After years of development, one might have expected a risk classification tool robust enough to help companies navigate the complex terrain of global sourcing. Instead, the rankings are poised to mislead businesses into thinking certain countries are “low risk” when the realities on the ground tell a very different story. …The EUDR sets out dual requirements: products placed on or exported from the EU market must be both “deforestation-free” and “produced in compliance with the laws of the country of origin.” However, the EC’s benchmarking appears to focus overwhelmingly on deforestation metrics and existing EU political sanctions—giving little attention to equally critical issues like governance, corruption, and law enforcement capacity. Findings from Forest Trends’ Illicit Harvest, Complicit Goods report further underscore the problem.

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Europe urgently needs to prepare for worsening wildfires, report finds

By Hunter Bassler
Wildfire Today
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A new report published by the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council, or EASAC, a collective of national science academies across Europe calls for collective action to face increasingly disastrous wildfires in the region. The report estimates that nearly 20% of Southern Europe will experience extreme fire danger every two years by the end of the century. Researchers argue that a unified European integrated fire management system, emphasizing landscape wildland fire governance, is the region’s only way forward. “Current EU wildfire policies and funding mechanisms primarily emphasise emergency responses to wildfire prevention, limiting their effectiveness in addressing the root causes of wildfire risk,” the report said. “EU wildfire risk management is hampered by the lack of a targeted, cohesive policy framework. Instead, wildfire risk is managed indirectly, disconnectedly, and fragmentarily through sectoral policies such as the EU Forest Strategy 2030, the Biodiversity Strategy, and the Climate Strategy.”

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What would happen if the Amazon rainforest dried out?

By Fabiano Maisonnave
The Associated Press
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

BRAZIL — Fallen logs are rotting, the trees grow sparser and the temperature rises in places sunlight hits the ground. This is what 24 years of severe drought looks like in the world’s largest rainforest. But this patch of degraded forest, about the size of a soccer field, is a scientific experiment. Launched in 2000 by Brazilian and British scientists, Esecaflor — short for “Forest Drought Study Project” in Portuguese— set out to simulate a future in which the changing climate could deplete the Amazon of rainfall. It is the longest-running project of its kind in the world, and has become a source for dozens of academic articles. …This resulted in the loss of approximately 40% of the total weight of the vegetation and the carbon stored within it from the plot. The main findings were detailed in a study published in May in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. 

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Consultation begins on new environmental standards for forestry sector

Inside Government New Zealand
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The Government has opened public consultation on proposed amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF), aimed at restoring national consistency and protecting the sector’s right to operate. Minister of Forestry Todd McClay said the proposed changes were about “getting foresters and wood processors back in the driver’s seat and stopping councils from using their plans to rewrite the rules on forestry through the back door”. “Our fibre sector – from forestry to wood processors – plays a crucial role in New Zealand’s economy, particularly in regional communities,” Mr McClay says. The current NES-CF was designed to provide a nationally consistent framework for managing the environmental effects of plantation forestry. However, recent changes have allowed councils to bypass that intent by imposing more stringent rules without justification – a trend that is now undermining investment and confidence in the sector, said the Minister.

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Trees Synchronize Their Bio-electrical Signals During Solar Eclipses: ‘The Wood Wide Web in Action’

Good News Network
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

More evidence that trees display group cognition and communication has arrived from the Dolomites where a multidisciplinary team monitored a forest during a solar eclipse. Their research witnessed two things, that the trees of the forest synchronized bioelectrical activity during the eclipse, and that the process of synchronization was started and directed by the eldest trees—a full 14 hours before the eclipse even started. The results of their experiment, which was published in Royal Society Open Science, demonstrate both the incredible value of old trees to the forests in which they live, but also the extent to which our woody cousins respond to their environment… The two older trees in the study, about 70 years old, had a much more pronounced early response to the impending eclipse than the young tree.

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‘A gut punch’ – Ireland has the fewest trees in Europe

By James Wilson
Newstalk
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Centuries ago, around 80% of Ireland’s green landscape was covered in trees – many of which were hundreds of years old. The arrival of modern agriculture changed that now less than 1% of the island is covered by ancient woodland. The Government hopes to reverse this historic trend and is aiming to cover 18% of the State in trees by 2050. Businesses are getting involved as well; Wolfman Digital bought a plot of land seven-years ago and staff were bussed out to plant trees on it. “Back in 2017, we decided we wanted to become carbon neutral,” CEO Alan Coleman said. “We were looking into our different options and we learnt three things about forests that really made us feel strongly that we wanted to start planting trees. “The first thing we learnt is that forestry is one of the strongest solutions to global warming.”

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Young trees face ‘make or break’ moment as drought reshapes Europe’s forests

By Wageningen University
Phys.Org
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The future of the European forests is at risk due to our changing climate. To observe the effects of climate change, we often look at the large trees. But the young trees are the future of the forest and are also the most vulnerable. The current drought is the biggest threat to young trees. A recent study published in Ecological Modelling by Wageningen University & Research and forest inventory institutes from 11 EU countries highlights new signals in the critical young phase of the forest. Forest rejuvenation—the process in which new trees establish themselves and start to grow—is very important for the future forest structure, biodiversity, growth and resilience of the forest. When new trees start to grow, it marks the beginning of an important process. This phase is crucial for the future forest. Predicting forest regeneration at a European scale was very limited.

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Eleven countries demand EU weakens deforestation law further, document shows

By Kate Abnet
Reuters in Offshore Engineer
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

BRUSSELS – According to a document obtained by, 11 governments are urging the European Union to delay or weaken its upcoming deforestation law. This policy, a world first, aims to stop the 10% global deforestation caused by EU imports of soy, beef and palm oil, among other products. However, it has become a controversial part of Europe’s environmental agenda. After complaints from Brazil and the US and a reduction in reporting rules, the EU has already delayed its launch for a year, until Dec. 2025. The Commission announced last week that it would spare most countries from the strictest checks. A group of eleven countries led by Austria, Luxembourg and Germany, have demanded that the European Commission further simplify the rules and delay the application date. …The countries’ paper, that the EU agriculture ministers in Brussels will be discussing on Monday, said the requirements are “disproportionate” to the regulation’s goal.

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Global Forest Loss Shatters Records in 2024, Fueled by Massive Fires

World Resources Institute
May 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

WASHINGTON — Global forest loss surged to record highs in 2024, driven by a catastrophic rise in fires, according to new data from the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab, made available on World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch platform. Loss of tropical primary forests alone reached 6.7 million hectares — nearly twice as much as in 2023 and an area nearly the size of Panama, at the rate of 18 soccer fields every minute. For the first time on our record, fires — not agriculture — were the leading cause of tropical primary forest loss, accounting for nearly 50% of all destruction. This marks a dramatic shift from recent years, when fires averaged just 20%. Meanwhile, tropical primary forest loss driven by other causes also jumped by 14%, the sharpest increase since 2016. Despite some positive developments, particularly in Southeast Asia, the overall trend is heading in a troubling direction. …Globally, the fires emitted 4.1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions. 

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Wildfires push forest destruction to 20-year high just as EU delays anti-deforestation rules

By Louise Guillot
Politico
May 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

BRUSSELS — Tropical forest loss rocketed to a 20-year high in 2024 as climate change-fueled wildfires tore through some of the planet’s most important natural carbon sinks. Close to 7 million hectares of primary tropical forests were destroyed last year, with nearly half of that due to fire, said a report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the University of Maryland published Wednesday. Wildfires also swept through boreal forests — in particular in Russia and Canada — leading to 30 million hectares of trees being lost globally in 2024, and resulting in an estimated 4.1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions. It came as the European Union decided to delay anti-deforestation rules and wind back other environmental protections in a bid to boost economic competitiveness. “This is a dangerous feedback loop we cannot afford to trigger further,” warned Peter Potapov, research professor at the University of Maryland. 

Additional coverage in Euro News by Rosie Frost: World lost a record-shattering amount of forest in 2024, fuelled by climate change-driven wildfires

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Australia’s oldest prehistoric tree frog hops 22 million years back in time

University of New South Wales
May 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Scientists have discovered the oldest ancestor for all Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South America. Newly discovered evidence of Australia’s earliest species of tree frog challenges what we know about when Australian and South American frogs parted ways on the evolutionary tree. Previously, scientists believed Australian and South American tree frogs separated from each other about 33 million years ago. But in a study published today in Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, palaeontologists from UNSW Sydney say the new species, Litoria tylerantiqua, is now at about 55 million years old, the earliest known member of the pelodryadid family of Australian tree frogs.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Most of Western Canada’s glaciers ‘doomed’ to disappear, researchers find

By Stefan Labbe
Business in Vancouver
May 31, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West, International

Climate change has put Western Canada’s glaciers on track for devastating loss over the coming decades, with the southern half of BC expected to lose nearly 75% of the alpine ice — even if warming stops today, a new study has found. The planet has so far warmed an average of about 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. If that increase climbs to 1.5 degrees C, 81% of Western Canadian and US glacier mass would melt, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Science. …Harry Zekollari, the study’s lead author and a glaciologist at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel, said the international research team used eight glacier computer models to analyze the potential long-term evolution of the year-round ice. The results painted a dire picture for the world’s glaciers, as the planet has already locked in enough warming to melt 40% of the Earth’s year-round ice by the end of the century.

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Mining giant Rio Tinto growing native pongamia trees for biofuel potential

ABC News Australia
June 2, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Rio Tinto has started growing pongamia trees in northern Australia, as part of a biofuels project aimed at reducing the mining giant’s reliance on fossil fuels. Pongamia trees are native to Australia and produce oil-rich seeds that can be processed into renewable diesel… Earlier this year, Rio Tinto trialled 10 million litres of renewable diesel — created from used cooking oil — across its Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia. The biofuel got used across the supply chain, featuring in Rio Tinto’s rail, marine, haul trucks, surface mining equipment and light vehicles… Forestry Industry Association of the Northern Territory (FIANT) manager Hanna Lillicrap said it was great to see a major mining company getting involved in the forestry sector. “It reflects a growing recognition of the role forestry can play as a climate-positive solution in emissions reduction strategies,” she said. “It’s great to see serious investment going into research to better understand the species and its potential,” she said.

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Toyota’s Biofuel: a new lease on life for combustion engines

Global Fleet
June 1, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Even if conversations are dominated by electrification, Toyota is working on a different course to keep combustion engines relevant. A recent Nikkei Asia report reveals that Japanese automakers led by Toyota have opened a bioethanol facility in Fukushima, aiming to slash the carbon footprint of conventional engines with a new kind of “better biofuel”. …What sets this project apart is its focus on second-generation biofuels: non-edible plants and agricultural waste serve as the feedstock, rather than food crops like corn or sugarcane. By avoiding feedstocks that compete with food supply, Toyota’s program addresses a key criticism of traditional biofuels. …The choice of Fukushima for the facility is symbolic. The site reuses land in an area devastated by the 2011 nuclear disaster, turning “disaster zones” into productive, green-energy facilities. In doing so, Toyota’s project ties regional recovery to climate innovation. …Feedstock: Uses non-food biomass (e.g. wood chips, rice straw, plant waste) instead of edible crops.

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Calls for Drax to be forced to fully disclose its biomass sourcing

By Fiona Harvey and Jillian Ambrose
The Guardian
June 2, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

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The owner of the Drax wood-burning power station should be forced to disclose full details of its tree consumption, campaigners have argued, as MPs review the billions in renewables subsidies the North Yorkshire plant receives. A delegated legislation committee will decide on Monday whether to pass the government’s plans to extend billpayer-funded subsidies to the country’s biomass power generators, of which Drax is by far the biggest. Green campaigners said a condition of any extension should be that Drax published a key report by KPMG into its operations and sourcing. Reports by the auditor have been provided to the government and the energy regulator Ofgem but not the public. Ofgem has said KPMG shows Drax has not breached rules on sourcing trees for burning from environmentally sustainable forests.

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Gerolsteiner begins construction of biomass plant with E.ON

Bioenergy Insight
May 27, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Mineral water producer Gerolsteiner Brunnen has broken ground on a new biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant at its site in the Vulkaneifel region, Germany, in partnership with energy provider E.ON. The plant is set to significantly reduce the company’s reliance on fossil fuels and further its long-standing commitment to climate protection. Once operational in early 2027, the plant will supply up to 95% of Gerolsteiner’s heat demand and around 20% of its electricity needs. It will run on regionally sourced biomass, including wood chips from damaged or diseased wood, forest residues, and green waste, that would otherwise go unused in traditional wood processing industries… The project is expected to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by over 7,000 tonnes annually.

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Our forests are not spreadsheets: Why Nature demands more than market logic

By Robert Nasi, Director General
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
May 27, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

When I hear discussions about creating markets to “save nature,” a part of me is hopeful, but a bigger part is deeply cautious. Looking at how these market ideas have played out, like carbon markets, gives me pause. Forests, wetlands, and the natural world are not simple spreadsheets; treating them as such can lead us down a perilous path… Carbon, as CO2, is a global pollutant. A tonne reduced in one place has, theoretically, the same atmospheric impact as a tonne reduced elsewhere.This (imperfect) fungibility is what would allow a global carbon market to function. Biodiversity, however, is the epitome of diversity, local and unique. The specific mix of species, the genetic diversity and the intricate ecological relationships that define a patch of old-growth rainforest in the Amazon are utterly different from those in a Scottish pine forest or an Indonesian mangrove. You cannot swap one for the other and claim equivalence.

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Cardiff University research finds Amazon could survive drought, but at a high cost

Nation Cymru
May 26, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

The Amazon rainforest may be able to survive long-term drought caused by climate change, but adjusting to a drier, warmer world would exact a heavy toll, according to new research in which Cardiff University played a role. The findings show adapting to the effects of climate change could see some parts of the Amazon rainforest lose many of its largest trees, releasing carbon stored in them to the air, and reducing the rainforest’s carbon sink capacity. Parts of the Amazon are expected to become drier and warmer as the climate changes, but long-term effects on the region’s rainforests – which span more than 2 million square miles – are poorly understood. Previous research has raised concerns that a combination of severe warming and drying, together with deforestation, could lead to lush rainforest degrading to a sparser forest or even savanna.

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Health & Safety

Toxic wildfire pollution infiltrates homes of 1bn people a year, study finds

By Damian Carrington
The Guardian
May 14, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: International

Toxic pollution from wildfires has infiltrated the homes of more than a billion people a year over the last two decades, according to new research. The climate crisis is driving up the risk of wildfires by increasing heatwaves and droughts, making the issue of wildfire smoke a “pressing global issue”, scientists said. The tiny particles produced by wildfires can travel thousands of miles and are known to be more toxic than urban air pollution, due to higher concentrations of chemicals that cause inflammation. Wildfire pollution has been linked to early deaths, worsened heart and breathing diseases and premature births.Previous studies have analysed outdoor exposure to wildfire smoke, but people spend most of their time indoors, particularly when seeking refuge from wildfires. The new analysis is the first global, high-resolution study of indoor spikes in wildfire pollution.

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Forest Fires

Severe wildfires in Russia’s Siberia region rage through 600,000 hectares of forest

By Caitlin Danaher, Darya Tarasova and Brandon Miller
CNN
May 14, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

Severe wildfires raging in a Siberian region of Russia have engulfed more than 600,000 hectares of forest, local authorities have warned. In the Eastern Siberian territory of Zabaykalsky Krai, a federal-level state of emergencies has been in place since late April, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Despite huge efforts to tackle wildfire outbreaks in the region, which borders Mongolia, 49 forest fires continue to burn, with a total area exceeding 629,000 hectares, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said Wednesday. Since the beginning of this year, more than 1.4 million hectares of land have been affected by wildfires, according to figures from Russia’s Federal Agency for Forestry published on Tuesday, about three times the total area affected by fires in the United States and Canada so far this year combined.

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Forest History & Archives

Looking at the untold work of lumberjills during WWII

By Becky McCreary
My Herald Review
May 26, 2025
Category: Forest History & Archives
Region: International

Rosie the Riveter, with her arm raised declared “We can do it,” is an iconic symbol of American women leaving the kitchen for factory and shipyard jobs during World War II. The need was the same in Great Britain, but those women worked out-of-doors on farms and in forests as part of the Women’s Land Army (WLA). Wood was a cheap material, used for telegraph poles, pit props in mines, on aircraft and ships and in the production of charcoal in explosives. Britain had lush forests but also imported timber from Norway. The German occupation of Norway caused a shortage of timber, and in April 1942 … the Women’s Timber Corps was added to the WLA. They were known as Lumber Jills, or lumberjills, a familiar connection with Lumber Jacks. …The most specialized skill was measuring, which included identifying trees for felling, assessing the timber in a tree and measuring the amount felled. 

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