Daily News for March 19, 2025

Today’s Takeaway

BC Auditor General say forest carbon accounting is too opaque

The Tree Frog Forestry News
March 19, 2025
Category: Today's Takeaway

BC’s Auditor General says the province’s forest carbon accounting isn’t consistent or transparent enough. In related news: a Montana study on the driving influences of forest carbon storage; Canada supports tree planting in Quebec; BC’s Forest Practices Board calls for protection of cultural sites;  and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society releases its report card on provincial conservation efforts.

In Business news: the United Steelworkers ratify a 4-year collective agreement with Canadian Pacific Kansas City; BC seeks to strengthen its forestry sector; Montana sees pros and cons with Trump’s orders; Canadian housing isn’t immune to trade war; US consumers fear tariff impacts; North Cowichan braces for forest sector fallout; and the European Commission reviews its retaliatory options.

Finally, US uncertainty positions Canada for more mass timber construction.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor

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Business & Politics

United Steelworkers ratify collective bargaining agreement with Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway

Canadian Pacific Kansas City
March 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKA) said that United Steelworkers (USW), representing approximately 600 clerical and intermodal employees in Canada, has ratified a new four-year collective agreement. …CPKC President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel said, “With this agreement and ratification, made possible through collaboration with the United Steelworkers, our railroaders remain focused on continuing to safely and efficiently serve our customers, moving Canada’s supply chain and supporting the North American economy.” This is the third new collective agreement ratified this year by CPKC employees in Canada. Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division representing approximately 2,300 engineering services employees in Canada and Unifor representing approximately 1,200 mechanical employees both ratified new four-year collective agreements in February.

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Housing far from immune to tariff war

By Joanne Paulson
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
March 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Lumber and other costs could soar … but that’s not even the biggest problem. First, Canada was hit with tariffs. Then it wasn’t. Then came March 4, a.k.a. Tariff Tuesday. Then the U.S. stock markets tanked and big American industries — including the auto sector — ramped up their tariff objections. Then we had Oops Never Mind About Those Tariffs For Now Thursday. …As it stands, Canada has a second tariff reprieve on goods covered under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement. Until April 2. So this trade war is far from over. Whether directly or due to instability, it affects every aspect of our economy — and that includes housing. …While builders can use Canadian lumber, of course, other materials and products are traditionally imported largely from the U.S. These include appliances, glass windows and doors, ceramic tiles, hardware components such as fasteners, and machinery and tools.

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North Cowichan braces for US tariffs facing some of its largest employers

By Kendall Hanson
Chek News
March 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rob Douglas

The municipality of North Cowichan is bracing for potentially higher U.S. tariffs on forestry. It’s a levy that could have a catastrophic impact on some of its largest employers. At a Chemainus sawmill, staff has been running flat out trying to get wood cut and moved down to their U.S. customers. “People down in the States are panicking, so they’re trying to get everything across the border as fast as they can”, Mike Beltgens, one of the owners of Paulcan and Jemico Enterprises. The US is poised to slap another, pushing the total tariff up to 40%. …The mayor of North Cowichan is worried about the impacts of tariffs on companies in his municipality, including at the Western Forest Products sawmill, which is also highly reliant on the U.S. market. …He says the Crofton mill, owned by Domtar, relies on working sawmills for its chip supply. 

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With U.S. tariffs on the horizon, Province strengthens forestry sector

Ministry of Forests
The Province of BC
March 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests, celebrated the official opening of Canoe Forest Products’ new kiln. The new kiln was made possible with funding from the Province’s BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BCMJF). …Canoe received more than $2.2 million in November 2023 to commission a new kiln, boosting both production and sustainability at its operation in Salmon Arm and help protect 200 jobs. …Parmar accompanied Canoe employees, community guests, and Nick Arkle, CEO of the Gorman Group, at an opening ribbon-cutting ceremony. …Parmar is also visited Tolko Industries who received $8 million to help expand Tolko’s Heffley Creek operation. Family-run Gilbert Smith Forest Products in Barriere received $1.1 million to support facility modernization and new equipment. AcuTruss Industries in Vernon received $100,000 to support the purchase and commissioning of equipment to manufacture precision cut I-joists through automation.

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Cepi calls on EU Commission to continue US tariff negotiations

Packaging Europe
March 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

Following the US government’s imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium, Cepi has called on the European Commission to continue negotiations, citing the potential for future tariffs including pulp and paper and aiming to avoid supply chain disruptions. Cepi is currently taking part in a consultation launched by the European Commission. …The confederation asks the Commission to exclude from such EU retaliation list products that risk being in short supply in the EU. …According to Cepi, the EU imports around 900,000 tonnes of pulp per year from the US and close to 600,000 tonnes of paper and board, while the EU exports about 1600,000 tonnes of paper and board to the US and around 350,000 tonnes of pulp. It states that since a multilateral agreement of all major pulp and paper producers in January 2004, there have been no import tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic.

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European Commission issues warning of a high risk of sanctions circumvention in plywood imports

The European Commission
March 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

The European Commission issued an alert warning of a high risk of sanctions circumvention in birch plywood, a significant revenue source for Russia and Belarus. EU sanctions prohibit the purchase, import, or transfer—directly or indirectly—of plywood and other wood products originating in or exported from Russia or Belarus. Related services, including brokering, logistics support, and warehousing, are also banned. To bypass these restrictions, Russian and Belarusian producers use third-country companies to repackage and relabel their products, the Commission warned. These companies attempt to conceal the true origin of the goods by providing false or misleading documents. …Russian birch plywood has been subject to anti-dumping duties at import to the EU since 2021; following an investigation, these measures were extended to Kazakhstan and Türkiye in 2024.

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Finance & Economics

Inflation’s surprise jump could push Bank of Canada to pause rate cuts

The Canadian Press in BNN Bloomberg
March 18, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

A surprise jump in inflation and a flood of “noise” in the economy may push the Bank of Canada to pause its interest rate cuts next month, some economists argue. Statistics Canada said that the annual rate of inflation accelerated sharply to 2.6% in February as the federal government’s temporary tax break came to an end mid-month. That marks a sizeable jump from the 1.9% increase seen in January, when Canadians saw GST and HST taken off a variety of household staples. …Economists expect Ottawa’s move to strike the consumer carbon price as of April 1 will take some steam out of the inflation figures next month. But Nguyen argued the pressure from the trade dispute — Trump has threatened another wave of tariffs on April 2 — will “outweigh” the benefits of eliminating the carbon price for consumers.

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US Single-Family Housing Starts Hit 12-Month High in February

By Jing Fu
NAHB Eye on Housing
March 18, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Limited existing inventory helped single-family starts to post a solid gain in February, but builders are still grappling with elevated construction costs. Overall housing starts increased 11.2% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.50 million units. …Within this overall number, single-family starts increased 11.4% to a 1.11 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, the highest pace since February 2024. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 10.7% to an annualized 393,000 pace. …Overall permits decreased 1.2% to a 1.46-million-unit annualized rate in February and were down 6.8% compared to February 2024. Single-family permits decreased 0.2% to a 992,000-unit rate and were down 3.4% compared to the previous year. Multifamily permits decreased 3.1% to a 464,000 pace. …The number of single-family homes under construction in February was down 6.7% from a year ago, at 640,000 homes.

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US-Canada Trade-War Tensions Show 72% of Americans Expect Housing Market Slowdown

By Sharad Mehta
Resimpli.com
March 11, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

A REsimpli survey through Pollfish finds that due to the US-Canada trade-war tensions, 72% of Americans expect the housing market to slow down. This study analyzed 1,200 American citizens who are concerned with major political events and economic changes in the country currently, seeking their input on the trajectory of the country’s housing market. Key Takeaways include:

  • 72% of people believe that ‘Reciprocal Tariffs’ will hurt the US housing market
  • 66.4% of people believe that Canadian investors will pull back from the US
  • 55.9% of people believe housing affordability will be negatively impacted
  • 51.3% of people believe the US mortgage rates will increase
  • 54.5% believe homebuyers will become more cautious
  • 19.3% of the respondents would delay purchasing a home due to trade tensions

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

U.S. uncertainty positions Canada for more mass timber construction

By Jean Sorensen
The Daily Commercial News
March 19, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Peter Moonen

Yo-yo U.S. tariffs and chaotic White House policy clouding the next four years is making mass timber and wood construction a secure alternative in the Canadian construction market for builders planning downstream. “What can we do for ourselves?” asked Peter Moonen, the Canadian Wood Council’s national sustainability manager, a mass timber advocate. The answer is that Canada does mass timber construction well and is self-reliant with its own timber supply, mass timber manufacturing facilities and considerable construction expertise. “Vancouver has become a mass timber hotspot,” Moonen said, adding it is known for its innovative buildings and architectural and engineering expertise that has pushed the envelope in a region of Canada that has seismic concerns. If B.C. can employ that kind of engineering, architectural and constructionl expertise, it can be transferred to other provinces, according to Moonen. …Moonen said B.C. is currently working on a new value-added strategy for wood manufacturers.

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Forestry

International Day of Forests: Celebrating our roots, growing our future

By Kathy Abusow
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
March 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, International

Kathy Abusow

This year’s International Day of Forests is the perfect moment to recognize that sustainable forestry isn’t just a North American priority—it’s a global one. Forests provide clean air and water, store carbon, support biodiversity, and sustain economies. At the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), we believe that sustainable forests are critical to our collective future. In a time of growing uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to come together—and this spirit of partnership is at the heart of what we do at SFI. 2025 is SFI’s 30th anniversary — an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and the progress that lies ahead. …We’ve grown into an organization that connects landowners, businesses, conservationists, educators, and Indigenous partners—all united by a shared commitment to forest-focused collaboration. Together, we are creating a world that values and benefits from sustainably managed forests, today and for generations to come.

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Canadians want next government to prioritize climate change, poll finds

By Stefan Labbé
Business in Vancouver
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Two-thirds of Canadians agree the next federal government should prioritize action on climate change and protecting nature, a new poll has found.  The national poll was carried out by Leger on commission from the B.C.-based environmental group David Suzuki Foundation. A similar share of respondents supported Ottawa investing in renewable energy over fossil fuels. …The poll questioned a panel of 1,548 Canadian adults in an online survey. In a letter sent Tuesday to the leaders of all major federal political parties, the David Suzuki Foundation joined 13 environmental groups calling on the next government to provide tariff relief measures that don’t lead to the over-harvesting of Canadian forests. The letter also lobbies the next federal government to craft tariff relief measures that prioritize funding Canadian workers — not foreign-owned forestry corporations. …“Unsustainable logging practices in Canada put this key export market at risk,” the letter notes. “Canada must acknowledge and reform current industrial logging practices that degrade forest ecosystems.”

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BC auditor general flags flaws in forest carbon accounting

By Rochelle Baker
National Observer
March 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Sheila Dodd

British Columbia’s carbon-accounting process to help make forestry decisions isn’t consistent or transparent, a new report by the province’s auditor general indicates. The BC Forests Ministry uses carbon projections to help determine how management decisions could affect the amount of carbon emissions the province’s forests store and release into the atmosphere. The audit focused on the ministry’s methods for carbon projections between April 2022 and December 2024 in three areas: the forest investments program, the allowable annual cut and forest landscape planning. The forest ministry failed to establish open and consistent methods to make carbon projections the report found. …However, at the end of 2024, the ministry did finalize an open and consistent plan for carbon projections to inform landscape planning, Dodd noted. …Gary Bull, with the UBC’s forestry department said… “In order to do carbon accounting you have to have some kind of consensus around the rules of the game,” he said. 

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Leaders, Learners and Laggards Line up Conservation Report Cards for Canada are Out

By The Canadian Parks And Wilderness Society
Cision Newswire
March 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON -The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWSCanada’s only charity dedicated to the protection of public land, freshwater and ocean) just-published a report ON THE PATH TO 2030: A Report Card on Progress to Protect Land and Ocean Across Canada to shed light on which provinces and territories are sitting at the head of the class, which need improvement, and who needs to sign up for summer school. “There’s never been a more important time for Governments, organizations and all Canadians to support conservation efforts across the country,” said Sandra Schwartz, National Executive Director of CPAWS. “With constant breaking news across North America, it’s easy for all stakeholders to get lost in the woods and drift from the important conservation work they have started. There’s nothing quite as fundamental to the Canadian identity as nature, and long-term funding is essential to make it happen.”  

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Living with Fire: A Look into Ntityix’s Approach to Forest Management

The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

West Kelowna, B.C. – …Ntityix Resources LP (Ntityix), owned by Westbank First Nation (WFN) has undertaken extensive wildfire risk reduction work . They have achieved significant milestones in their ongoing efforts with support from the Ministry of Forests and the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC). …“Our government has all hands on deck to protect people, communities and forests, but we cannot do it alone. That’s why the work done by organizations like Ntityix is critical, especially in the Thompson Okanagan region where the wildfire risk is high. I thank them for doing their part in the fight against climate change and wildfires,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. …Ntityix has been at the forefront of wildfire risk reduction initiatives in the Thompson Okanagan region, leveraging cultural practices and traditional knowledge to enhance fuel modification zones and significantly contribute to long-term wildfire mitigation strategies.

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Myths of the B.C. forest industry

Letter by Eli Pavnick and Janet Parkins, Climate Action Now!
Castanet
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Janet Parkins

Eli Pivnick

Successive B.C. governments have failed to seriously overhaul forestry policy. …A good example is the March 7 letter to Castanet by Brian LaPointe. LaPointe has worked in the forest industry continuously since 1973. His letter expresses many of the myths propagated by the forest industry. The industry has always said, echoed by Lapointe, that clear cuts mimic insect and disease infestations and wildfires. However, that is true only when a forest is regarded as a supply of timber. But forests are much more than that. …If clearcuts are so harmful, why are they the dominant form of logging? In a word, profit. Clear cutting means faster and bigger machinery can be used. So it is more efficient and cheaper. The downside is on jobs, tourism, wildlife, fires, floods, scenery, landslides, biodiversity and the climate. …In 20 years, clearcut logging will be recognized for the barbaric and destructive practice it is…

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Forest Practices Board calls for stronger protections for cultural heritage sites

BC Forest Practices Board
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

FORT ST. JOHN – The Forest Practices Board has released its findings following a complaint from the Halfway River First Nation regarding grazing impacts on culturally significant sites and concerns about government enforcement to protect the Nation’s drinking water. In 2023, the Nation raised concerns about livestock damaging mineral licks and displacing wildlife within its territory in the Halfway River watershed. The board investigated two range agreement holders and the Ministry of Forests to assess compliance with legal requirements. Investigators examined records from 2013 to 2023 and found that government did not follow the law when it approved two range use plans. The agreement holders did meet requirements to protect riparian areas, but there were no enforceable requirements for safeguarding cultural heritage sites, such as mineral licks. …The board also found problems with how government investigated the Nation’s complaint about drinking water.

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B.C.’s Forests Minister says he will ‘fight like hell’ for jobs

By Wolf Depner
Victoria News
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ravi Parmar

As B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar continues his tour of forest-dependent communities in southern B.C., he promised changes to the program that manages 20 per cent of the province’s allowable annual cut. The government announced in February a review of B.C. Timber Sales… “We are going to get the most value out of our timber, out of our logs, create more job opportunities and we are going to diversify as well,” Parmar said, speaking from Vernon March 17. Parmar had earlier visited the Gorman Brothers’ facilities in West Kelowna. …Parmar is also scheduled to stop in Kamloops, Barriere, Merritt and Clearwater. Parmar’s tour takes him through parts of the province largely held by MLAs part of the Conservative Party of B.C., including the riding of Ward Stamer, MLA for Kamloops – North Thompson. A logging contractor and former mayor of Barriere following his election to Victoria, Stamer currently shadows Parmar’s portfolio for his party.

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Canada Supports Tree-Planting Activities in Gatineau and Across Quebec

By Natural Resources Canada
The Government of Canada
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Gatineau, Quebec — Natural Resources Canada announced more than $16 million in funding for four tree-planting projects that will bring environmental, health and social benefits to both urban and rural communities across the province of Quebec. The City of Gatineau and the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu are receiving funding for urban tree-planting projects that will plant new trees on public lands, helping to capture carbon, increase biodiversity and cool areas vulnerable to extreme heat. …These projects are being supported in part by Canada’s 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program. This program is dedicated to working with governments and organizations across the country to support the expansion of Canada’s forests while creating sustainable jobs in communities. 

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Timber industry analysts wonder if they can keep up with Trump logging orders

By Robert Chaney
The Mountain Journal
March 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

President Donald Trump’s March 1 Executive Order calling for “Immediate expansion of American timber production” generated lots of enthusiasm in the Northwest wood products world. But analysts added equal amounts of concern that Trump’s DOGE-driven federal cuts might keep the woods quiet. “It’s going to be a good thing in terms of helping stimulate activity on national forests,” University of Montana’s Todd Morgan said of Trump’s order. But Morgan, the forest industry analysis director of UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, also recognizes the uncertainty spiraling around Washington, D.C. “A lot is going to depend on who’s left in federal agencies at the end of the day, the week, the next four years,” he said. “All this funding- and budget-cutting…is going to interfere with the stated goals.” …Trump took on the import market in a second March 1 order: “Addressing the threat to national security from imports of timber, lumber.” 

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Big Sky Fire Department comments on U.S. Forest Service firings, wildfire preparedness

By Carli Johnson
Mountain Outlaw magazine: Explore Big Sky
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

…thousands of federal employees across the country lost their jobs as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s initiative for large-scale reduction and grant freezing. …Layoffs included essential employees whose responsibilities were to respond to wildfires, provide wildland fire safety education… Dustin Tetrault, Big Sky Fire Department’s fire chief said the state is well-equipped at the local government level has been gradually filling more roles to have large-scale incident response. …Many tenured forest service employees are being fired or accepting a leave with promised pay because the state of the forest service remains so uncertain. This takes away years of knowledge of the land and relationships built with local services like BSFD, making future collaboration more difficult. …Despite uncertainty, there are two potential bills in the Montana legislature that, if passed, could have a major effect on the reorganization of how the U.S. deals with emergency fire services, Tetrault explained.

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Arkansas foresters receive top honors

The Pine Bluff Commercial
March 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Don Bragg — one of three inducted into the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame — was a forester who loved science and sharing that passion with others. The late Bragg joins the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame roster along with Greg L. Hay and Pete Prutzman. The hall is housed in the Forest Resources Building at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Plaques honoring the three were officially hung this month following last November’s induction ceremony at the Ouachita Society of American Foresters. The Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to forestry in Arkansas, according to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

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New Study Finds Time is Not the Driving Influence of Forest Carbon Storage

By Chrissy Billau
The University of Michigan
March 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

PELLSTON, Mich. — It is commonly assumed that as forest ecosystems age, they accumulate and store, or “sequester,” more carbon. A new study based at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) untangled carbon cycling over two centuries and found that it’s more nuanced than that. The synergistic effects of forest structure, the composition of the tree and fungal communities, and soil biogeochemical processes have more influence on how much carbon is being sequestered above and below ground than previously thought. …“Time is a playing field, and the rules of the game are things like canopy structure, tree and microbial community composition, and soil nitrogen availability. That means that changes in things like structure, composition, and soil nitrogen are what control forest carbon trajectories, whether quickly or slowly, and whether we are influencing those changes through management or letting them happen on their own terms,” Dr. Luke Nave said.

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Forest Stewardship Council Launches the FSC Brand Hub

Forest Stewardship Council
March 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is thrilled to announce the launch of the FSC Brand Hub, a user-centric platform designed to streamline trademark management, marketing resources, and brand assets for all FSC stakeholders. Developed with input from users around the world, the FSC Brand Hub is tailored to the needs of certificate holders, promotional licence holders, certification bodies, and other FSC partners. This new platform replaces the legacy system, offering an improved, modernized experience… Whether you’re managing trademark designs, building marketing campaigns, or creating custom assets, the FSC Brand Hub is a one-stop solution. …FSC will also host a webinar to introduce the Brand Hub, including how to navigate the platform, customize assets, and make the most of this exciting new resource.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

B.C. failing to show how it calculates forest carbon, audit finds

By Stefan Labbé
Business in Vancouver
March 18, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia’s government has failed to transparently show how it calculates carbon in the province’s forests — numbers critical when officials decide to boost or lower logging and reforestation levels. In a statement Tuesday, the Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia released the results of its investigation into the Ministry of Forest’s forest carbon projections. …But according to the auditor general’s findings, the ministry did not use a “defined methodology” when it calculated the carbon impact of forest investments — including reforestation and fertilization projects. …Ministry calculations looking at the benefit forest investment projects had on carbon stores “weren’t sufficiently documented,” found the report. …”We were encouraged to see that near the end of 2024, the ministry finalized guidance for calculating consistent and transparent carbon projections to inform its new forest landscape plans,” she said.

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