BEIJING — China will restore soybean import licences for three US firms and lift its suspension on US log imports starting November 10, its customs authority said on Friday in another sign of easing trade tensions between the two nations. …The halt on US log imports was a retaliatory measure after US President Trump’s March 1 order to investigate lumber imports. Investor sentiment improved after Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, reducing fears that the world’s two largest economies might abandon efforts to resolve their trade disputes. Following the meeting, Beijing lifted tariffs on some US farm goods. …However, traders remain cautious, as a 10% tariff on all US imports remains in effect, limiting expectations for a broader recovery in trade flows.
From October 14, wooden furniture exported to the United States will continue to be subject to a new import tariff of up to 25 percent. This has come as a “shock” at a time when enterprises are accelerating production, raising concerns over the feasibility of maintaining Vietnam’s 2025 wood export targets. In the long term, aside from adapting to frequently changing tariff policies, enterprises in the wood industry are working to improve product quality. Expanding markets and building the Vietnamese wood brand are considered key solutions for the sector’s sustainable development. On September 29, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing a 25 percent tariff on wooden furniture, effective from October 14. The tariff rate may increase to 50 percent for dressing tables and kitchen cabinets, and 30 percent for upholstered products early next year. This move is regarded as a “shock” to Vietnam’s wood industry.
NEW YORK — Mercer International reported third quarter 2025 Operating EBITDA of negative $28.1 million, a decrease from positive $50.5 million in the same quarter of 2024 and negative $20.9 million in the second quarter of 2025. In the third quarter of 2025, net loss was $80.8 million compared to $17.6 million in the same quarter of 2024 and $86.1 million in the second quarter of 2025. Mr. Juan Carlos Bueno, CEO, stated: “In the third quarter of 2025, persistent global economic and trade uncertainties, fiber scarcity in Germany as well as the impact of pulp substitution accelerated the decline in pulp market demand and pricing, which negatively impacted our operating results and contributed to a $20.4 million non-cash inventory impairment charge in the quarter.
VANCOUVER, BC —
Kimberly-Clark is buying Tylenol maker Kenvue in a cash and stock deal worth about $48.7 billion, creating a massive consumer health goods company. Shareholders of Kimberly-Clark will own about 54% of the combined company. Kenvue shareholders will own about 46%. The combined company will have a large stable of household brands under one roof, putting Kenvue’s Listerine mouthwash and Band-Aid side-by-side with Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle toilet paper, Huggies and Kleenex tissues. It will also generate about $32 billion in annual revenue. Kenvue has spent a relatively brief period as an independent company, having been spun off by Johnson & Johnson two years ago. The deal announced Monday is among the largest corporate takeovers of the year. …The deal is expected to close in the second half of next year. It still needs approval from shareholders of both both companies. …Shares of Kimberly-Clark slipped more than 15% before the market open, while Kenvue’s stock jumped more than 20%.
Ikea is increasing the amount of products it makes in the US as the world’s largest home furnishings retailer comes under pressure from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on furniture and kitchen cabinets. The flat-pack retailer, which made revenues of $5.5bn in the US last year, currently produces only about 15% of products that it sells in the US domestically. That compares with 75% local production in Europe and 80% in Asia. “We want to continue to expand in the US and Canada — how do we optimise a good supply set-up where we secure the right access to materials, to components, to production? That’s very long-term work that we’re doing,” Jon Abrahamsson Ring, chief executive of Inter Ikea. Trump imposed tariffs of between 10% and 50% on imports of foreign furniture and wood products. Ikea, which is responsible for about 1% of total industrial production, is set to take a significant hit. ){kind=logo}
The global pulp and paper industry is entering a new period of uncertainty after several turbulent years marked by supply chain shocks, rising costs, and shifting market dynamics. While packaging demand continues to grow, analysts warn that the rapid build-up of new capacity could soon trigger a global oversupply of fibre-based products. According to a recent market analysis, the global paper and pulp market was valued at 500 billion USD in 2024 and is expected to reach 650 billion USD by 2033, representing an annual growth rate of around four per cent. The trend, however, hides deep structural divides – strong expansion in packaging and tissue paper, but continued decline in printing and writing grades. …Analysts agree that the coming decade will determine whether the paper and pulp sector can balance growth with sustainability – or whether the combination of overcapacity, energy costs, and environmental constraints will usher in a new era of consolidation.
Anthony Cabrera, who started working with a contractor in March to construct the three-bedroom house, was eager to get ahead of a fresh round of tariffs on key building materials and home items that took effect earlier this week. Mr Cabrera had already seen his initial budget of roughly $300,000 balloon to $450,000 as prices for a range of products. …A recent report from Goldman Sachs found that US consumers will shoulder as much as 55% of the cost. It takes time to raise prices on consumers, the economists noted, and US firms will increasingly pass on costs in the coming months. The new tariffs “will create additional headwinds for an already challenged housing market” Buddy Hughes, chairman for the NAHB, said. Affordable housing construction could be hit particularly hard, said Elena Patel, of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. …Matthew Walsh, at Moody’s Analytics, said that cost uncertainty will be the most immediate effect.
China’s pulp and paper industry continues to expand at an unprecedented pace, with new mill projects, advanced technologies, and state-backed financing driving record output. What began as a push to meet domestic demand has now evolved into an era of overcapacity and a structural imbalance that is reshaping trade dynamics, pricing strategies, and sustainability priorities worldwide. This expansion has far-reaching effects: global producers are contending with lower-priced exports, disrupted supply chains, and a shifting balance of power that challenges traditional market leaders in North America and Europe. …Industry observers expect consolidation in China’s pulp and paper sector, as smaller and less efficient mills struggle to survive. Strategic investments in transparency, benchmarking, and efficiency will be crucial for staying competitive in a tightening global market.
The UK timber industry is currently experiencing a crisis, even as it reports record sales of softwood, raising concerns over supply chain challenges, rising costs, and sustainability issues. The surge in softwood sales, particularly in the construction and woodworking sectors, has overshadowed the ongoing difficulties facing the industry. While the demand for timber has been high, particularly due to the growing construction boom and a shift toward more sustainable building materials, the challenges related to timber shortages and price increases remain deeply concerning for businesses across the sector. …The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) reports that softwood sales in the UK reached record levels in 2024. However, one of the most pressing issues facing the UK timber sector is the disruption of supply chains. The UK has faced considerable difficulty in securing a steady supply of raw timber. The global timber shortage has exacerbated the situation.
Understanding the differences between lyocell vs cotton becomes crucial when choosing sustainable, comfortable fabrics for your wardrobe and home. Over 68% of US consumers now prioritize eco-friendly textiles in their purchasing decisions, yet many remain confused about lyocell’s advantages over traditional cotton. This comprehensive guide reveals the exact properties, environmental impact, and performance characteristics that distinguish these two popular fabrics in 2025. …Lyocell is a regenerated cellulose fiber made from wood pulp through an innovative closed-loop manufacturing process that recovers over 99% of solvents used in production. …The choice between lyocell vs cotton depends on your priorities: sustainability goals, budget constraints, specific use applications, and care preferences. Neither fiber is universally superior—each excels in different scenarios. Choose lyocell if you prioritize: environmental sustainability, moisture-wicking performance, luxury feel, and durability. …Our sustainability analysis shows lyocell winning decisively with 78% less water usage, no pesticide requirements, and complete biodegradability. 
Ireland must realise the “massive opportunity” that exists as timber construction is set to triple market value and deliver climate action, Forest Industries Ireland (FII) said. The director of FII, Mark McAuley has welcomed a 
More companies that provide rayon, lyocell and modal to fashion brands are sourcing less from ancient and endangered forests, according to the nonprofit Canopy. Although the vast majority of cellulosic fibers are still spun from virgin materials, some of the biggest producers have been quickly adopting forest-friendly and circular materials. 70% of companies making semi-synthetic, cellulose-based fibers now exhibit green practices that reduce pressures on forests. 54% of fiber producers that the group tracked have reached the nonprofit’s favorable green rating. …Canopy uses this annual report in part to help brands make informed sourcing decisions. The use of recycled materials for such fibers is still rare, although it grew to 1.1% in 2024. Such textiles represent only 6% of the global fiber market, according to Textile Exchange. It found that fibers approved by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or other certification made up as much as 70 percent of cellulosic fiber market share.
Several parliamentarians, key industry players and alternative materials start-ups in hemp, engineered bamboo and engineered timber attended an event designed to focus a spotlight on the new world of possibilities in building materials. The WWF and Forest Alliance NSW event was intended to showcase sustainable alternatives to timber products …with the protection of the proposed Great Koala National Park at the centre of conversations. The event was further by the Parliamentary Friends of Forests. Attending as exhibitors were House of Bamboo, Hemp Inside, Bamboo Society Australia, Australian Hemp Council, iHempNSW, BVN Architecture and betti & knutt. While XLAM … was originally on the list of presenters, an industry source says the pressure from forestry sources had forced the company to pull out. …Susie Russell was particularly inspired by House of Bamboo, realizing that similar products to timber can be made from bamboo, which only takes five years to grow.
The world’s largest green timber label will vote next week on whether to begin work on new traceability rules, amid renewed scrutiny and accusations over whether the body is doing enough to prevent fraud within its supply chains. The Bonn-based Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) bills itself as “the world’s most trusted mark for sustainable forestry.” …But forestry experts and whistleblowers have alleged for years that the FSC lacks a proper control system, allowing bad actors to fraudulently pass off timber that was illegally or unsustainably logged as FSC-certified. Phil Guillery, who was the FSC’s integrity director from 2011-21, 
BOGOTA, Colombia — Interpol and partners launched a global law enforcement effort Wednesday aimed at dismantling criminal networks behind illegal logging, timber trafficking and gold mining, which drive large-scale deforestation and generate billions in illicit profits each year. The effort announced ahead of the UN COP30 climate summit in Brazil will focus mainly on tropical forests in Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Peru. “Criminals are making billions by looting the planet’s forests,” Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said. “The only way to stop them is through determined law enforcement action and strong international cooperation.” …The announcement follows a major crackdown in the Amazon Basin last week, when Brazilian police, supported by Interpol, destroyed more than 270 illegal mining dredges operating on the Madeira River. Authorities said the raids dealt a significant blow to criminal groups linked to gold-smuggling networks that span Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.
Wildfire experts from around the globe convened at Istanbul Forest Innovation Week (IFIW) to evaluate Türkiye’s approach to forest fire management, unanimously acknowledging the country’s advanced capacity in both fire detection and intervention. Experts emphasized the integration of cutting-edge technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), as a critical factor in Türkiye’s rising prominence in global wildfire resilience. Tiago Oliveira, chairperson of the Portuguese Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management, highlighted the multifaceted challenges climate change poses to forests worldwide. He underscored that warming trends are prolonging fire seasons and increasing the number of days with severe fire conditions. Oliveira also stressed the indispensable role of local communities living near forests. … Warning about extreme fire scenarios, Oliveira noted, “When difficult conditions triggered by climate change occur, very intense fires begin, making firefighting extremely challenging because water can become ineffective.”
Chopping down rainforests is daft. The social costs of clearing a typical patch of Brazilian Amazon are perhaps 30 times the benefits of rearing cows on it, by one estimate from 2023. The problem is, those costs, which include aggravating climate change, are spread across the entire world’s population, whereas the profits from cutting down the trees go to the men commanding the chainsaws. Somehow, the world has to find a way to make conservation pay. …Yet there is hope. Though Brazil lost more rainforest than any other country last year, due to to wildfires, it also shows how better policy can make a difference. …The pace of deforestation fell by 80% during Lula’s first terms (2003-11), and fell again when he returned in 2023, before the wildfires set things back. …Since preserving rainforests is a global public good, the world should help pay for it. [to access the full story an Economist subscription is required]
…The World Resources Institute calculates that forests are burning at twice the rate they were two decades ago. In Canada … the frequency and severity of forest fires have quadrupled over the last half century. …the global wildfire defence market is projecting annual growth rates that range from 8.4% to 12.6%, much of it driven by public funding. For example, the United States’ budget for wildland fire management was $1.9 billion in 2025, a 10% increase from the previous year. …On October 22, a consortium of national organizations in Canada published an open letter to the federal government asking for a five-year investment of $4.1 billion in wildfire defence. …Coupled with U.S. auto tariffs, the wildfires prompted South Korea’s government to quickly assemble a US$8.6-billion supplementary budget, of which nearly a billion was earmarked for wildfire recovery. …The bushfire crisis of 2019/2020 in Australia caused AUD$2.4 billion of insured loss. …in 2025, Brazil allocated the equivalent of USD$95 million for firefighting efforts.
SWEDEN — Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group (the largest IKEA retailer), has agreed to acquire approximately 153,000 hectares of land in Latvia and Estonia, of which 89% are forestland, from Södra, Sweden’s largest forest owners’ association. Completion is subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. “Our unique ownership structure allows us to invest with a long-term perspective rather than short-term quarterly thinking.” …As the world’s largest IKEA retailer, Ingka Group operates in 31 markets and represents 87% of global IKEA sales. …Niks Sauva, Country Manager, Ingka Investments Latvia, continued: “We’re committed to creating more value locally in the Baltics. Our goal is to increase the share of wood processed regionally to strengthen the Baltic forestry value chain.” …Completion is subject to approval by the relevant authorities in Latvia and Estonia.
Europe’s sawn timber industry is grappling with growing strategic uncertainty and rising compliance costs while the EU prepares to delay implementation of its landmark anti-deforestation law for a second time. While the postponement of the regulation to December 2026 may offer temporary relief, it also threatens to erode market incentives for early adopters and undermine confidence in the bloc’s regulatory direction. Producers across the continent have already invested billions of euros to meet the regulation’s demanding traceability requirements—developing digital platforms, upgrading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and restructuring supply chains to prove that every cubic meter of wood originates from deforestation-free sources. …In a strongly worded letter to the EC’s Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, a 
Drax power plant has continued to burn 250-year-old trees sourced from some of Canada’s oldest forests despite growing scrutiny of its sustainability claims, forestry experts say. A new report suggests it is “highly likely” that Britain’s biggest power plant sourced some wood from ecologically valuable forests as recently as this summer. Drax, Britain’s single biggest source of carbon emissions, has received billions of pounds in subsidies from burning biomass derived largely from wood. The report, by Stand.earth, claims that a subsidiary of Drax Group received hundreds of truckloads of whole logs at its biomass pellet sites throughout 2024 and into 2025, which were likely to have included trees that were hundreds of years old. The report could raise fresh questions for the owner of the North Yorkshire power plant, which has been forced in recent years to defend its sustainability claims while receiving more than £2m a day in green energy subsidies from UK bill payers.
BELEM, Brazil — Google has struck its biggest carbon removal deal, agreeing to finance restoration of the Amazon rainforest with Brazilian startup Mombak, as big tech hunts for high-quality credits to offset emissions tied to energy-hungry data centres. The companies said the deal would offset 200,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. …The agreement highlights how big tech is looking for ways to soften the climate impacts of its huge investment in power-intensive data centres for AI, driving demand to offset carbon emissions through Brazil’s nascent reforestation industry. Last year, Alphabet’s Google committed more than US$100 million to an array of different carbon capture technologies, from enhanced rock weathering and biochar to direct air capture and a project making rivers more acidic. But when it came time to double down, it was hard to beat the efficiency of planting trees. [to access the full story a Bloomberg subscription is required]
Britain’s biggest power plant will continue to earn more than £1m a day from burning wood pellets under a new government subsidy contract designed to halve its financial support, according to analysts. The Drax power plant in North Yorkshire is in line to earn £458.6m a year between 2027 and 2031 after the government agreed to extend its subsidies beyond 2026, according to analysts at Ember, a climate thinktank. The earnings are well below the £869m in subsidies handed to the Drax power plant last year for generating about 5% of the UK’s electricity from burning biomass after the government promised to curb the use of biomass in Britain’s power system. Under the contract, Drax will be paid to run just over a quarter of the time, down sharply from almost two-thirds of time currently. But the price it will earn for each unit of electricity generated will rise.
Panama – Unveiled today at its General Assembly, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) reports a sharp slide in public concern for climate change, even after the hottest year on record. The 2025 Global Consumer Awareness Survey – conducted with Ipsos across 50 countries and 40,000+ respondents – find war and conflict (52%) now dominate public worries while climate change trails at 31%. That is a 21-point gap in the 2025 snapshot. Looking only at the 32 countries surveyed in both 2022 and 2025, the concern gap has widened from 12 points in 2022 – where economic hardship was on top position – to 16 points in 2025. …While ‘climate change’ may rank lower as an abstract global issue in the 50-country snapshot, across the forestry module markets, the impacts felt through forests –wildfires, droughts, floods, and biodiversity loss – rank among the top concerns within the forestry sector.
The Earth’s forests, soil and oceans are reaching their critical limits to naturally store carbon, as decades of climate change take their toll, according to a new analysis. The 
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) rose faster in 2024 than in any year since records began. …Our new satellite analysis shows that the Amazon rainforest is struggling to keep up. And worryingly, the satellite that made this discovery could soon be switched off [due to proposed NASA budget cuts.]. Systematic measurements of CO₂ in the atmosphere began in the late 1950s. …Across six decades of measurements, CO₂ has gradually increased. …The largest change was over the Amazon, where much less CO₂ is being absorbed. Similar slowdowns also appeared over southern Africa and southeast Asia, parts of Australia, the eastern US, Alaska and western Russia. Conversely, we detected more carbon being absorbed over western Europe, the US and central Canada. …It’s not yet clear whether 2023-24 is a short-term blip or an early sign of a long-term shift. But evidence points to an increasingly fragile situation, as tropical forests are stressed by hot and dry conditions.
Google has announced plans to address greenhouse gases beyond carbon dioxide by purchasing credits to support the emerging market for removing short-lived but highly potent “superpollutants.” The company will buy up to 25,000 tonnes of superpollutant-destruction credits by 2030 from two organisations, Recoolit and Cool Effect—equivalent to about one million tonnes of CO₂ removal over the long term. While carbon dioxide remains a key focus, Google said gases such as methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxide have a much greater near-term warming impact. “It’s the right thing to do for the planet,” said Randy Spock, Google’s carbon credits and removals lead. “CO₂ is obviously very important… but if we think only about CO₂, then we’re just looking at one piece of the puzzle.” …Sam Abernethy, a climate scientist at Spark Climate Solutions, said: “Superpollutants only get a few percent of climate finance… that’s a misallocation given their importance.”
Woody trunks and branches of trees in the wet tropical rainforests of Queensland are losing their ability to absorb excess carbon dioxide. That’s according to an analysis of 49 years’ worth of data, 
GENEVA — Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilization and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather, the United Nations weather agency said Wednesday. The World Meteorological Organization said in its latest bulletin on greenhouse gases, an annual study released ahead of the U.N.’s annual climate conference, that CO2 growth rates have now tripled since the 1960s, and reached levels that existed more than 800,000 years ago. Emissions from burning coal, oil and gas, alongside more wildfires, have helped fan a “vicious climate cycle,” and people and industries continue to spew heat-trapping gases while the planet’s oceans and forests lose their ability to absorb them, the WMO report said.
Ten lawsuits have been filed against Drax after diagnoses of asthma allegedly linked to its wood pellet fuel, it has been revealed. Current and former workers at the UK’s largest power station claim they have not been adequately protected against sustained exposure to wood dust, which can cause serious health problems including asthma, dermatitis and nasal cancer. Six compensation claims were settled out of court and four have trial dates in 2026, an investigation by Land and Climate Review found. A class action lawsuit was also filed against the company this month over health concerns in the US, representing 700 people who live near one of Drax’s wood pellet mills in Mississippi. The company is also being investigated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority over “historical statements” made about its wood pellet fuel.