International Paper and Smurfit Westrock announced facility closures—with IP shuttering operations in Kentucky, Illinois, California and New Jersey, and Smurfit Westrock closing a Tennessee plant. In other Business news: BC Premier Eby heads to China to diversify trade; businesses are more resigned to Trump’s trade chaos; while critics declare free trade dead and supporters urge Trump to reaffirm the USMCA pact. Meanwhile: registration is open for Investing in Cellulose—a Celco and Numera Analytics conference; and Portland earned top spot in US airport rankings thanks in part to mass timber.
In Wildfire news: three firefighters were killed battling blazes on the Colorado–Utah border; wildfire evacuations were ordered in the Northwest Territories and Manitoba, and major fires are burning in Colorado and Arizona. In Forestry news: European forest industries urge more realistic EU land-use climate targets; Massachusetts highlights the ecological impacts of overabundant deer; researchers examine LiDAR’s use in forest carbon measurement; and a Cornell study suggests climate models may overestimate forests’ carbon storage potential.
Finally, the Frogs will be taking a short holiday Wednesday – Friday, barring breaking news.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Corporate bosses are more relaxed about tariffs now than at any time since US President Trump’s return to power unleashed a spate of trade policy chaos. The share of corporate earnings calls in which tariffs were mentioned has fallen to the lowest level since Mr. Trump won the 2024 election, according to an analysis of transcripts. …The same pattern has played out on both sides of the border, even though companies have plenty of reasons to remain anxious on the trade front. The USMCA is set to enter uncharted territory on July 1. …Steep sectoral duties remain in place. …Meanwhile, Mr. Trump is expected to launch a wave of hefty tariffs next month to replace temporary duties he imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his earlier emergency tariffs. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
Russia’s timber exports to China, its largest overseas market, fell sharply in the first four months of 2026 as Beijing’s prolonged property downturn weighed on demand, adding to mounting pressure on an industry already struggling with sanctions, high borrowing costs and weak profitability. Exports of Russian sawn timber to China dropped 30% year on year to 2.6 million cubic meters in January-April, while export revenue declined 26% to $603.7 million, the Vedomosti business daily reported. …China accounted for roughly half of Russia’s sawn timber exports in 2025 after Europe closed its market following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But weakening Chinese construction activity, rising logistics costs and a stronger ruble have eroded demand, leaving Russian producers with fewer alternative markets. Russia’s total sawn timber exports fell 32% year-on-year to around 4 million cubic meters in the January-April period. China imported 11.2 million cubic meters of Russian sawn timber in 2025.
Join us for the 16th edition of this flagship event—the only conference of its kind this year offering such a comprehensive view of the Cellulose market, covering the entire value chain from upstream to downstream. CelCo started up the conference Investing in Cellulose in 2011. Since then, it has been running every year in London, in November, the first Monday of the London Pulp Week. Its objective is to gather the entire cellulose value chain: from specialty wood pulp and cotton linters pulp suppliers to all viscose, acetate, ether & MCC, nitrate, cellophane, tyrecord, sausage casings, and sponge applications, as well as final converters up to “Brand levels” (textile, hygiene, pharmaceutical, cigarette, automotive, food, construction industries, etc.). The one-day conference includes a full-day event with 8 speakers, a breakfast, formal lunch, coffee breaks, and a cocktail the previous evening. The event will be held on Monday, November 9, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the luxurious Waldorf Hotel near Covent Garden. …This event is organized by CelCo, a cellulose consulting company registered in Switzerland, led by Christian Chavassieu, and assisted by its partner, Numera Analytics.
Nordic, Baltic and Austrian forest industry associations are calling for a realistic and enabling EU climate target for the land-use sector, warning that overly high expectations for forest carbon sinks could place unnecessary pressure on forestry and the bioeconomy. In a joint letter dated 24 June 2026, several European forest industry associations said the EU’s post-2030 climate framework should focus primarily on phasing out fossil emissions, while allowing the land-use sector to continue providing renewable raw materials and climate solutions. The associations argue that forests and the wider land-use sector provide sustainable biomass that can replace fossil-based or carbon-intensive products, materials and energy. They say this role is important for Europe’s transition towards a circular and climate-neutral bioeconomy.
Ithaca, NY — Forests and land play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide emissions, but current models and forecasts don’t incorporate a new and surprising ecological discovery: Despite more available carbon, climate change and warmer temperatures are slowing forest growth. A new study considers for the first time the impact of the discovery on climate models, finding that one of the most-used land models for determining the impacts of climate change may overestimate forests’ future potential for carbon storage by as much as 30%. “Knowing how well the land will be able to keep taking up carbon in the future is really important,” said first author Brendan Clark. “But the land models are probably underestimating the effects of hotter, drier air on actual growth.” …Clark first learned about the new ecological findings from co-author and ecologist Shan Kothari, at the University of Alberta, and immediately wondered how they might impact climate models. 
