Daily News for September 18, 2025

Today’s Takeaway

Canada and Mexico reset their relationship as US seeks input for upcoming trade negotiations

The Tree Frog Forestry News
September 18, 2025
Category: Today's Takeaway

Prime Minister Carney is meeting with Mexican President Sheinbaum, while the US seeks stakeholder input prior to trade negotiations. In other Business news: Canada seeks a binational panel review in lumber dispute; Canfor Vida AB completes Swedish sawmill acquisition; Element5 opens a $107M Ontario mass timber expansion; Northern Ontario leaders warn of Kapuskasing’s paper mill closure; and a new $10M sawmill is announced in South Carolina. Meanwhile: FPInnovations releases handbook for Offsite Wood Construction; American Forests appoints Hilary Franz as CEO; and the latest from BC Wood Specialties Group.

In Forestry/Climate news: Canada’s 2024 GHG emissions show stalled progress; Indigenous leaders reflect as National Forest Week nears; Forests Canada reaches 50M trees planted; BC Wildlife Federation comments on dry forests; and debate continues over logging in BC’s Tsitika watershed. Meanwhile: US insurers press lawmakers on wildfire reforms; making the environmental case for fire retardant, and a Nature study says Europe’s forestry disturbance costs could double.

Finally, a safety infestation says the fatal Fremont pellet plant explosion was preventable.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor

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Business & Politics

Canada files for USMCA binational panel review in softwood lumber dispute

US International Trade Administration
September 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Two Requests for Panel Review were filed in the matter of Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada: Final Results and Rescission, in Part, of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2023 with the U.S. Section of the USMCA Secretariat on September 11, 2025. The first Request for Panel Review was filed on behalf of Resolute FP, the Conseil de l’industrie forestière du Quebec, the Ontario Forest Industries Association, and each association’s respective individual members (collectively Central Canada). …The second was filed by The Government of Canada, the Governments of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec; Alberta Softwood Lumber Trade Council, British Columbia Lumber Trade Council; Canfor, Interfor, EACOM, Chaleur Forest Products, J.D. Irving, Tolko, Gilbert Smith Forest Products, and West Fraser. The USMCA Secretariat has assigned case number USA-CDA-2025-10.12-03 to this request.

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Vida AB completes acquisition of sawmills in Central Sweden

Canfor Corporation
September 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, International

VANCOUVER — Canfor Corporation announced that its 77%-owned subsidiary, Vida AB, has completed the acquisition of AB Karl Hedin Sågverk. The transaction, announced on July 22, 2025, adds approximately 230 million board feet to Vida’s annual production capacity, bringing its total annual production capacity to approximately 2.1 billion board feet. “We are excited to welcome the employees at AB Karl Hedin Sagverk’s three sawmills in Karbenning, Krylbo and Sater into the Canfor family,” said Susan Yurkovich, President and CEO of Canfor. “This acquisition strengthens Vida’s geographic footprint, increasing access to high-quality timber resources in Sweden, while continuing to diversify Cantor’s operations globally.” 

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Element5 Mass timber celebrates grand opening of expanded manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario

Element5
September 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

ST. THOMAS, Ontario —Element5 officially opened a new state-of-the-art Glulam production line and expansion to its manufacturing facility in St. Thomas, Ontario. As part of the government’s plan to build a more resilient forestry sector, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli announced that Ontario is providing $8 million in funding through the Invest Ontario fund towards the $107 million expansion. Element5’s growth is reinforced by a strategic investment from parent company, the HASSLACHER group, one of Europe’s largest and most innovative timber producers, as well as by partnerships with federal and provincial governments. …The company is Ontario’s first certified manufacturer of cross-laminated timber, and the expansion more than doubles the size of the plant from 130,000 square feet to over 350,000 square feet. The expansion also doubles the facility’s production capacity from 50,000 cubic meters annually to 100,000 cubic meters annually of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued-laminated timber (Glulam) products.

Related coverage:

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What Mark Carney’s meeting with Mexico’s president could mean for North American trade

By Judy Trinh
BNN Bloomberg Politics
September 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Prime Minister Mark Carney is embarking on a pivotal meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, just as the United States officially launches the process to review the North American trade agreement. The Office of the US Trade Representative will seek public comments on the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) over 45 days and has scheduled a public hearing in November. Public consultation is required by law and is a clear sign that the Trump administration is preparing to renegotiate, not just review, the trilateral agreement, says Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. Under the current agreement, Canada’s trade with the U.S. is 85% tariff free, but that could change when CUSMA expires next June. …It’s under this pressure that Carney is meeting with Sheinbaum to strengthen their bilateral relationship and increase trade. Mexico is Canada’s third biggest trading partner and last year, the two countries did $56 billion in imports and exports.

In related coverage [subscriptions required]:

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Northern Ontario leaders plead for federal help to save Kap Paper Mill

By Lydia Chubak
CTV News
September 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

ONTARIO — The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is issuing a stark warning that the Kap Paper Mill in Kapuskasing faces imminent closure without urgent financial support from the federal government. In a direct appeal, FONOM has stated the mill could shutter within two weeks if funding is not secured. FONOM President Danny Whalen confirmed the anxious wait for a federal response. …Kapuskasing Mayor Dave Plourde described the mill’s status over the past year as a “roller coaster ride. …We just need the federal government to ensure the 2500 jobs that would be affected in our area”. …Whalen pointed to punishing international tariffs as a core issue hindering the industry. …Plourde explained that the mill’s closure would trigger a catastrophic domino effect, crippling the entire local forestry sector as sawmills in the region rely on the Kap Paper Mill to consume their wood by-products, such as chips and sawdust.

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Insurance Association urges lawmaker action on Fix Our Forest Act

By Josh Recamara
Insurance Business Magazine
September 18, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) is pressing lawmakers to advance federal wildfire legislation, warning that inaction risks worsening losses for communities nationwide. …Sam Whitfield explained that federal reforms are essential to reduce wildfire risks, strengthen community resilience and protect lives and property. The House has passed its version of the Fix Our Forests Act, or H.R. 471, in January. In April, a companion bill, or S. 1462, was introduced in the Senate. Both bills align with recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. Provisions include reducing fuel loads in forests and rangelands, preventing utility infrastructure from sparking fires through vegetation management, and promoting community wildfire risk reduction. …The insurance industry has faced mounting wildfire-related losses. …Insurers have responded by tightening underwriting standards, reducing capacity in wildfire-exposed areas, and relying more heavily on reinsurance to absorb catastrophic risks.

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American Forests Taps Hilary Franz, National Natural Resources Champion as its New President & CEO

American Forests
September 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — American Forests, the nation’s oldest nonprofit conservation organization, today announced Hilary Franz as its new president and CEO. A highly accomplished public servant recognized for her success in forest conservation, management, and restoration, her ability to lead organizations through transformative growth, and her innovation in wildfire response and community resilience, Hilary steps into the leadership position at a pivotal time, when American Forests is celebrating its 150th Anniversary and when the nation is confronting unprecedented challenges to its forests. …Working in the public, private and non-profit sectors, Franz has almost three decades’ experience in natural resource conservation and management, serving in local and state government; leading a statewide non-profit organization; and practicing environmental, land use and real estate law. …Franz was twice elected as Commissioner of Public Lands and Head of Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources, a position she held for eight years.

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$10 million sawmill to open in northern Horry County, officials announce

By Adam Benson
WBTW News 13
September 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: US East

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. — A family-owned sawmill plans to create 18 jobs by opening a multi-million facility in northern Horry County amid high-profile shutdowns of other sites across the region. “This facility will support area businesses impacted by recent closures, and we’re proud to expand our services and give back to the region that has supported us,” Matthew Johnson, founder of Galivants Ferry Sawmill, said in a news release shared on Facebook by the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation. In August, Canfor closed its Darlington and Estill plants — eliminating 290 jobs in a move it blamed on “an extended period of consistently weak market conditions.” And in December, Georgetown County’s International Paper ended operations, cutting 674 jobs. The Galivants Ferry facility on McCracken Road will support the local timber industry and help fill the gap left by those closures

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Finance & Economics

Why the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cut is no silver bullet for mortgages and housing

By John MacFarlane
Yahoo! Finance
September 17, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

Benjamin Tal

Variable mortgage rates in Canada could drop below fixed rates now that the Bank of Canada has cut its overnight rate as was widely expected, but scars from past rate swings and wider economic anxieties may keep the housing market muted even if borrowing costs fall further, experts say. CIBC’s Benjamin Tal said that key economic indicators for employment, inflation and housing gave the BoC “the green light” to cut, “not only in September but also I think after.” But he notes the policy rate “is very close to neutral already,” meaning that any rate relief will be modest. Before today’s announcement, markets had largely priced in two cuts, said Ron Butler, a broker. …Tal warns that further declines are unlikely. US deficits, sticky inflation, and Ottawa’s own likely heavy borrowing are all pushing up long-term yields.

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The Fed Cuts and Projects More Easing to Come

By Robert Dietz, Chief Economist
NAHB Eye on Housing
September 17, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

After a monetary policy pause that began at the start of 2025, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee (FOMC) voted to reduce the short-term federal funds rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its September meeting. This move decreased the target federal funds rate to an upper rate of 4.25%. Economically, the cut is justified given signs of a softening labor market and moderate inflation readings. However, Chair Powell characterized today’s easing as a “risk management cut,” rather than one driven by fundamental changes in the economic outlook. NAHB is forecasting another 75 basis points of easing in the coming quarters, with 25 of that total coming before the end of the calendar year. …Overall, today’s decision was widely expected. Much of the benefit of today’s easing was already priced into long-term interest rates, but the rate cut will benefit business loan finance conditions. Further, additional rate cuts lie ahead.

Related by NAHB: What the Fed Rate Cuts Mean for Housing and the Economy

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Egypt’s furniture exports expected to hit $350mln by year-end: Wood chamber

The Daily News Egypt in Zawya
August 20, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: International

EGYPT — Alaa Nasr El-Din, of the Wood Working and Furniture Chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, affirmed that Egypt’s furniture industry is undergoing a significant technological transformation, driven by advanced manufacturing techniques and the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI). Nasr El-Din projected that sector exports will surpass $350m by the end of 2025, supported by strong performance in the first half of the year, which recorded $200m in exports. This div already represents a marked improvement compared to total exports of $331m in 2024. …Nasr El-Din stressed that significant opportunities exist to boost Egyptian furniture exports to international markets—particularly the United States and Europe—by improving productivity, increasing value-added in manufacturing, and enhancing design quality.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Mass timber prefab housing system uses local lumber to build affordable homes faster

ReNew Canada
September 17, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

When Nak’azdli Development Corp. (NDC) unveils its inaugural Timber House next month – a unique prefabricated home in Canada that uses stud lumber from local saw mills and an innovative panel construction system by local forestry startup Deadwood Innovations – visitors will see firsthand what’s possible when academia partners with business to solve pressing challenges. Reflecting on Canada’s housing crisis and challenges faced by the forestry industry, “there has been a lot of emphasis recently on fast-tracking mass timber construction for large-scale buildings in large urban centres, but very little focus on supporting regional housing, tailored to the specific needs of remote and rural communities,” said Owen Miller, Deadwood Innovations CEO and co-founder, explaining that these large projects primarily use high-cost dimension lumber. “Our approach is all about tapping into local lumber, resources and expertise to build housing that aligns with community and cultural needs, is sustainable and delivers affordable homes built to last,” Miller said. 

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New handbook on offsite wood construction now available

FPInnovations
September 15, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

FPInnovations has a new addition to its roster of wood-building construction guides—the Offsite Wood Construction Handbook. Industrialized offsite construction, also known as prefabricated or modular construction, is a construction method where building materials and components are manufactured and assembled offsite in factories before being transported to the project site for the final assembly. This approach can improve efficiency, reduce cost, and enhance quality compared to the traditional onsite construction. Industrialized offsite construction results from the reality of labour shortages, as well as the desire to automate manufacturing processes and shorten delivery schedules. …This free handbook is available for download now.

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Decoding Timber Towers: Global contest promotes mass timber housing

By Rebecca Keillor
Vancouver Sun
September 17, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

Decoding Timber Towers is a global competition that drew 44 submissions from six countries, exploring how mass timber can shape new housing solutions. Run by Urbanarium, a Vancouver-based non-profit, the competition awarded $50,000 in prize money. “At a time when we urgently need low-carbon, livable, and affordable housing, it is vital to share ideas and pursue scalable solutions,” said competition juror Natalie Telewiak, principal at Michael Green Architecture. Telewiak said the competition attracted provocative proposals that challenge regulation, reimagine mass timber at scale, and spark strategies for change. First place went to Timber Commons by team MT3, which also received part of the DIGITAL Prize for innovation in standardizing housing construction. …Second place went to KAPLA by Team Softwood, an 18-storey design that combined modular efficiency with prefabricated balconies. Third place went to Vancouver’s Culture House by team 637427, which tied for the DIGITAL Prize for its on-site prefabrication factory concept.

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Wood Connections – News for BC’s Wood Products Industry

The BC Wood Specialties Group
September 17, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

In this newsletter you’ll find these stories and more:

  • 2025 Global Buyers Mission Review – BC Wood celebrated our 22nd Annual GBM this month, welcoming almost 500 delegates from all over the world to Whistler, BC. 
  • Leadership Updates at BC Wood: Welcoming Our New Chair and Board Members – BC Wood is excited to announce the appointment of Kelly Marciniw as the new Chair of the BC Wood Board of Directors, alongside new member Nick Arkle. 
  • Coastal Currents – Forestry Fibre Flow Forum: October 17. A Value-Added Accelerators event.
  • Final Report: BC Value-Added Wood Products Workforce Development Implementation 2025
  • Update: 2025 BC Timber Building Technical Tour – 16.5 BC House CPD credits approved – Scheduled for October 20 – 24, join this unique exploration of BC’s thriving mass timber and prefabricated construction sector.
  • UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing to host Industrial Wood Finishing Certificate Program, January 5th to April 10th, 2026

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Forestry

Record-breaking planting season helps Forests Canada reach 50 million tree milestone

By Forests Canada
Cision Newswire
September 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Jess Kaknevicius & Rob Keen

BARRIE, ON – After supporting the planting of approximately 4 million trees across Canada in 2025 – a record for the organization – national charity Forests Canada has reached the 50 million tree milestone since it began planting trees in 2004. …Forests Canada supported the planting of approximately 3.9 million trees this spring and has hundreds of thousands more set to be planted during the fall planting season to bring the yearly total to over 4 million – smashing the organization’s previous record of 2.7 million trees from 2024. …Getting past the four million mark in 2025 and achieving this 50 million tree milestone is proof that the quality infrastructure and unique forest recovery system built by Forests Canada over the years is not only dependable, but necessary. …The collaboration necessary to plant 50 million trees extends beyond just trustworthy planting partners to a vast collection of supporters who make the funding of these planting projects possible.

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Growing together: The future of forestry is Indigenous-driven

By John Desjarlais, Executive Director, Indigenous Resource Network
The Globe and Mail
September 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

John Desjarlais

Many Canadians may not realize we are soon entering National Forest Week, a time to reflect on forests’ vital role in our history, economy and future. National Forest Week, happening September 21–27, 2025, reminds us to balance economic opportunities with sustainability. Indigenous-led forest ventures already exemplify this. Indigenous communities have managed forests responsibly for thousands of years, and their involvement has increased significantly, with more land and resources under their control, including forest tenures. …The future of sustainable forestry depends on increasing Indigenous participation. This includes stronger industry-Indigenous partnerships, expanded forest tenures, fair forest sector procurement policies, better Indigenous recruitment and retention within the forestry world, and greater integration of Indigenous knowledge into policy frameworks. Let’s celebrate National Forest Week by honouring Canada’s original forest managers and their lasting legacy in sustainable forest management.

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Osoyoos Indian Band to begin tree thinning project northeast of Oliver

By Sarah Crookall
Castanet
September 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Osoyoos Indian Band is kicking off its first commercial thinning silviculture treatment via Siya Forestry. In the project 28 kilometres northeast of Oliver, select trees will be harvested while the strongest will remain left to grow in the OIB First Nations woodland licence area. …Siya Forestry, the OIB-owned new company, said it aims to care for the land through stewardship, balance, and responsibility. “This is a great pilot project and hopefully it will lead to a bigger program within the Osoyoos Indian Band’s traditional territory,” said Luke Robertson, Siya Forestry, operations supervisor, in the press release.

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BC’s dry forests are a consequence of bad decisions. But the fix is simple – and cheap

By Jesse Zeman, BC Wildlife Federation
Vernon Now
September 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Drought and wildfire have become the rule rather than the exception and that is bad news for wildlife, for fish, and for British Columbians who rely on healthy watersheds. …over the past couple of decades we drained wetlands, straightened streams, logged forests, built highways, and ripped millions of beavers from the landscape. The result is dry forests, destructive fire seasons, and choking smoke … every summer. Dry riverbeds are unable to support salmon populations, or any wildlife for that matter. A dewatered landscape is a towering forest of matchsticks waiting to burn. … So, how do we get from here to there? Fortunately, some of the answers are simple, natural, and inexpensive. …Prescribed and cultural burning helps restore native grassland and shrub-steppe ecosystems providing improved forage for large mammals. …BCWF’s 10,000 Wetlands Project has recently installed more than 100 beaver dam analogues and dozens of post-assisted log structures…

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Lichen, logging, land rights: Complex forces play out in fate of ancient B.C. forest

By Brenna Owen
The Canadian Press in the Financial Post
September 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A shaggy, cool-green lichen hangs from the trunk of a tree in a forest on northeastern Vancouver Island. Lichenologist Trevor Goward has named it oldgrowth specklebelly. …Old-growth advocate Joshua Wright photographed oldgrowth specklebelly this summer in a forest about 400 kilometres northwest of Victoria. …Wright and Goward prize the forest in the Tsitika River watershed for its age and biodiversity, and a provincially appointed panel recommended that it be set aside from logging in 2021. But if a plan by the provincial logging agency, BC Timber Sales, goes ahead, the site will be auctioned for clearcut logging by the end of September. The area was stewarded by several Indigenous nations. …The plan to log it reveals differing opinions among Kwakwaka’wakw leaders on how to protect old-growth forests, while raising questions about which Aboriginal rights holders the BC government chooses to listen to, and why.

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College of New Caledonia awarded $170K federal grant to launch remote sensing lab for forest stewardship

College of New Caledonia
September 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

PRINCE GEORGE, BC — CNC’s Applied Research team received a $170,775 Applied Research Tools and Instruments (ARTI) grant through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for the creation of a state-of-the-art remote sensing lab. …Remote sensing technologies have great potential to support the planning, execution, and monitoring of forestry, wildlife management, and other applications in natural resources. The grant allows for the acquisition of terrestrial LiDAR scanners, allowing researchers to capture, analyze and better understand individual tree characteristics, forest structure, and wildfire hazards, among other forest attributes. CNC research fellow Dr. Pablo Crespell will lead research activities related to remote sensing lab purchases and operation, including drones, LiDAR sensors and scanners, multispectral sensors, software applications, and computer hardware. Grant funds will also be used to support the costs of relevant training for CNC research staff, such as drone pilot training and new analysis approaches.

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District of 100 Mile House unanimously refuses solar, wind project proposal

By Misha Mustaqeem
The 100 Mile Free Press
September 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The District of 100 Mile House is refusing a proposed project that could see solar and wind farms built in the South Cariboo. During the Sept. 9 District of 100 Mile House Council meeting, around 50 people showed up to council to hear them deliberate about the Cariboo Wind and Solar Projects, which are a collection of wind and solar projects that are being proposed by MK Ince and Associates Ltd. …In a letter to the district, Tyrell Law, who is the current manager of the 100 Mile Community Forest, said that the project significantly overlaps with the Community Forest areas. The 100 Mile Community Forest is around 18,000 hectares in size and is managed by the 100 Mile Development Corporation. The proposal comprises around 730 hectares of the community forest. Law said that while Ince is partially correct to say that the area had been recently harvested and was in a plantation, it is more complicated than that. 

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UBC expands Beaty Biodiversity Centre to tackle preservation

By Sally Ji
Victoria News
September 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The University of British Columbia unveiled a $45-million expansion to the Beaty Biodiversity Centre with an open house event. The expansion adds dedicated research and meeting spaces to the Biodiversity Research Centre, as well as a new fossil storage room and pollinator garden to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Biodiversity Research Centre director Mary O’Connor said the expansion brings new opportunities for collaboration with both researchers and non-academic partners from across the globe. …O’Connor said she would describe biodiversity as “all life on Earth.” This immense scope is what makes collaboration so important when it comes to tackling biodiversity issues. By adding spaces designed for collaboration, the research centre hopes to form new partnerships as well as expand on existing ones. …Meanwhile, the new additions to the museum hope to improve public engagement and awareness of biodiversity.

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Stopping Wildfires to Protect the Planet: The Environmental Case for Fire Retardant

By Melissa Kim, Vice President of Research & Development, Perimeter Solutions
Aerial Firefighting Magazine
September 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The USDA Forest Service and others around the world have used phosphate-based fire retardants for more than 60 years to prevent the spread of wildfires. …fire retardant has proven to be an effective tool, helping firefighters protect structures and save lives. It has also helped to protect the environment from the far-reaching and sometimes irreversible damages caused by wildfires. This article examines more than 80 years of scientific research that has determined that phosphate is the safest, most effective fire retardant available. It explores the potential environmental consequences of not using fire retardants, and why tools like PHOS-CHEK® are more important than ever as we face longer, more intense wildfire seasons. …Phosphate-based fire retardants are not only scientifically proven to be the most effective tools for slowing or stopping wildfires, but they are also a critical line of defense in protecting the planet from the much greater environmental harm that wildfires cause.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

2024 emissions estimate shows progress stalled, Canada’s 2030 climate target out of reach

By Canadian Climate Institute
Cision Newswire
September 18, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON – Canada’s emissions progress flatlined in 2024, according to the latest Early Estimate of National Emissions (EENE) from 440 Megatonnes, a project of the Canadian Climate Institute. With emissions essentially unchanged from 2023, at 694 megatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (Mt), the new data shows that previous years’ improvements have stalled. Further, emissions trends indicate Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target is now out of reach given weakening policy momentum across the country. That’s despite years of disruptive and costly wildfires, extreme weather and other climate-related disasters that increasingly threaten Canadians’ security and drive up the cost of living. …While some sectors—including electricity and buildings—continued to cut emissions in 2024, progress was modest and more than countered by rising emissions from oil and gas, particularly oil sands production.

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Rising cost of disturbances for forestry in Europe under climate change

By Johannes Mohr, Felix Bastit et al
Nature
September 18, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

EUROPE — Climate change has large economic costs for society. An important effect is the disruption of natural resource supply by climate-mediated disturbances such as wildfires, pest outbreaks and storms. Here we show that disturbance-induced losses for Europe’s timber-based forestry could increase from the current €115 billion to €247 billion under severe climate change. This would diminish the timber value of Europe’s forests by up to 42% and reduce the current gross value added of the forestry sector by up to 15%. Central Europe emerges as a continental hotspot of disturbance costs, with projected future costs of up to €19,885 per hectare. Simultaneous climate-related increases in forest productivity could offset future economic losses from disturbances in Northern and Central Europe but not in Southern Europe. We find high disturbance-related cost of unmitigated warming, highlighting that climate change adaptation in forestry is not only an ecological but also an economic imperative.

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Health & Safety

Federal agency says fatal Fremont explosion was preventable

By Matt Olberding
Nebraska Public Broadcasting System
September 17, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

A federal agency on Wednesday called the fatal July explosion at a Fremont industrial facility, “a terrible tragedy,” that it said was completely preventable. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said the July 29 explosion and fire at Horizon Biofuels, which resulted in the death of a worker and his two young daughters, was caused by a “completely avoidable hazard.” “This terrible tragedy should not have happened,” CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said in a news release. “Preliminary evidence points to a combustible wood dust explosion, a well-known – and completely avoidable – hazard in wood processing.” …“At the time of this update, the Horizon Biofuels facility remains unsafe and officials have advised that people maintain a safe distance from the facility due to the potential for the structurally compromised building to collapse, preventing the CSB from approaching the building so far,” the agency said in a preliminary report.

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