Canada moved to end the railway shutdown quickly as the lockout was already hurting BC and Ontario’s forestry sector. In other news: CPKC workers plan to challenge the Minister’s direction; a fire broke out at K & D Forest Products in Utah; Rayonier reports positive Q2 earnings; and Finland’s UPM curtails production at two pulp mills. Meanwhile: Canadian homebuilder sentiment plunges; US housing is a key election issue; and the latest from the Softwood Lumber Board.
In Forestry/Climate news: heat and drought fuelled Canada’s 2023 wildfire season; 1/3 of Canadians say they’ve been impacted by extreme weather; the art and science of responding to BC wildfires; a new film documents threatened US old-growth forests; and FSC welcomes the EU’s Nature Restoration Law.
Finally, a new study on what has worked to fight climate change. Not much unfortunately.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
VANCOUVER — The BC Council of Forest Industries calls for all parties – employers, unions, and the federal government – to consider the far-reaching consequences of a railway shutdown and to work urgently towards a resolution.” “Rail transportation is the backbone of our industry, enabling the movement of lumber, pulp, and paper products across North America and to global markets. The potential disruption of these services poses a severe risk to the forest sector and the economic stability of forestry-dependent communities across the province. A simultaneous work stoppage at CN and CPKC could result in tens of millions of dollars in weekly losses for the forest products manufacturing sector.” Niquidet emphasized that the majority of the forest sector’s products rely on rail transport, particularly for exports to the US. “Within the first week of a strike, we could face widespread mill curtailments, further threatening jobs and economic activity in our communities.”
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber announced that, in light of imminently expected transportation challenges that will affect all Canadian lumber producers for an unspecified period, together with already existing unfavourable market conditions, Conifex is reducing its sawmill operating schedule at its Mackenzie, British Columbia site to a one-shift basis for the foreseeable future and temporarily curtailing its power plant, each commencing on August 26, 2024. We anticipate an end to the curtailment of our power plant by September 30, 2024. …“Unfortunately, a reduced operating schedule at the sawmill is necessary for the foreseeable future due to the combined impact of our inability to ship production on a two-shift basis to end markets for an unspecified timeframe, reduced demand for our lumber products, low lumber prices and punitive lumber export duty impositions,” said Andrew McLellan, President and COO of Conifex.
GERMANY — The State of Baden-Württemberg faces potential liability of up to Euro 500 million following a precedent-setting ruling by the Stuttgart Court of Appeals. On August 15, 2024, the court held the state liable for violating EU competition laws through its centralized sale of timber, in a decision that marks the first time a German court has established civil liability in a major cartel case without a prior decision from an antitrust authority. The case centers on Baden-Württemberg’s decades-long practice of bundling and jointly selling timber from state, municipal, and private forests. The court found that this arrangement restricted competition and led to inflated timber prices, ultimately harming sawmills that depended on the state as a dominant supplier. The next phase of the legal battle will focus on determining the exact compensation owed to the sawmills. The ruling is open to appeal. …Its broader implications, however, may ripple across the European Union.
Prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (
Statistics Canada’s July consumer price index showed a significant cooling in inflation, with the rate easing to 2.5 per cent — its slowest pace since March of 2021. Economists believe this latest reading cements a 25-basis point cut by the Bank of Canada in September, and they predict further rate cuts before year’s end. …Claire Fan, at Royal Bank of Canada, said “The scope of price pressures continue to normalize — the diffusion index says the breadth of inflation in Canada is looking similar to pre-pandemic norm in 2019.” …Olivia Cross, economist with Capital Economics, thinks core inflation measures may surprise to the downside of the Bank of Canada’s forecasts, which raises the possibility of a steeper policy cut by the central bank later this year.
DUBLIN, Ireland — The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) has urged the government to adopt more sustainable construction methods to reduce sector emissions immediately. Publishing its annual review of Ireland’s industry and waste sectors, the CCAC emphasised the need for increased timber use and modern construction methods (MMC). It also called for whole-life carbon assessments and targets in planning public buildings to meet sectoral targets. …Marie Donnelly, Chair, CCAC, said: “One of the primary sources of industrial emissions is cement production. …“Updates to the building regulations that support increased use of timber in construction should be consolidated with the establishment of a high-level cross-departmental task force to prepare an overarching national strategy for the development and expansion of all aspects of the timber industry in Ireland. …48% to 50% of new-build homes in Ireland are timber-framed, compared to less than 25% in 2021. 
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard announced the Government’s intention to construct a new Pacific salmon hatchery in Prince George, BC, to support conservation and rebuilding of Chinook and sockeye salmon. The proposed hatchery will be built through federal investments under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) and operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in collaboration with Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and with support from Canfor Pulp Ltd. Construction is expected to begin this fall on federally administered land on the north bank of the Nechako River, near its confluence with the Fraser River. The proposed conservation hatchery will fill a critical infrastructure gap in the upper Fraser River region, serving to boost survival of numerous at-risk salmon stocks.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Tory Rushton, Nova Scotia’s Minister of the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, announced a joint investment of more than $40 million to plant up to 21 million trees by 2031 on private and public lands in Nova Scotia. This funding will result in the planting of more than 21 trees for each resident of Nova Scotia. …The funding will strengthen Nova Scotia’s tree-planting supply chain, from seed collection to nurseries to tree planting and monitoring. This work will create hundreds of jobs across the forestry sector in Nova Scotia. Federal funding comes from the 2 Billion Trees program, part of the Government of Canada’s broader approach to nature-based climate solutions. 
Cities need to diversify the funding sources used to 
WASHINGTON — To figure out what really works when nations try to fight climate change, researchers looked at 1,500 ways countries have tried to curb heat-trapping gases. Their answer: Not many have done the job. And success often means someone has to pay a price, whether at the pump or elsewhere. In only 63 cases since 1998, did researchers find policies that resulted in significant cuts of carbon pollution, a new study in Thursday’s 
BRAZIL — Extreme weather has made 2023 virtually certain to be the warmest year on record, signaling unprecedented climate and biodiversity crises. Brazil, the world’s most biodiverse country, with two hotspots and complex social and economic layers, has experienced escalating environmental degradation over the past years. Alarming rates of native vegetation loss, wildfires, severe and prolonged droughts, and heatwaves have adversely impacted several Brazilian ecosystems and societies. Despite the country’s decisive role in global carbon neutrality, bridging the gap between Brazil’s discourse on the international stage and its concrete actions at home remains a significant challenge. This correspondence underscores the urgent imperative for national engagement and commitment to halt and mitigate these crises.