Daily News for September 26, 2025

Today’s Takeaway

Trump to put 50% tariff on wood-derived goods such as furniture

The Tree Frog Forestry News
September 26, 2025
Category: Today's Takeaway

President Trump announced 50% tariffs on all kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, citing national security reasons . In other Business news: Canada seeks trade diversification with Indonesia; Roseburg Forest Products ceases hardwood plywood production; and Interfor announces share plan to reduce debt. Meanwhile: Vaughn Palmer opines on BC’s Timber Sale promises; BC lumber takes another hit; the Softwood Lumber Board’s incremental demand goals; and US GDP rebounds while mortgage rates trend down.

In Forestry/Climate news: 34 nations launch forest finance blueprint at New York Climate Week; Canada supports global reforestation efforts; researchers study the tradeoffs between storing and burning forest carbon; and BC’s Dragon Mountain Park is at risk without wildfire mitigation. Meanwhile: Tim O’Hara says the US H-2B Visa program is critical for US reforestation needs; staff shortages pull US Forest Service workers into fire roles; US funding cuts impact cross-border conservation efforts; and a judge pauses logging in Hoosier National Forest

Finally, Alice Palmer on why anti-dumping duties make no sense in commodity markets.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor

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Business & Politics

Canada to boost Indonesia exports to diversify non-U.S. trade, says minister

Reuters in the Western Producer
September 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, International

Canada aims to establish duty-free access for up to 95 per cent of its exports to Indonesia over the next eight to 12 months, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said, after signing a trade agreement. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is Canada’s first in the economically crucial Indo-Pacific region since Prime Minister Carney promised to diversify Canada’s exports away from the US. …The bilateral agreement is likely to be ratified by the respective governments within a year or earlier, Sidhu said, adding that Canadian bilateral trade with Indonesia could double within six years. …Total bilateral trade between the two countries was just over C$5 billion last year. Canada’s exports to Indonesia include cereals, oilseeds, wood pulp, fertilizers and machinery.

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B.C. Government says it’s acting on BC Timber Sales review

By Kendall Hanson
Canadian Press in Chek News
September 23, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

The B.C. Government says it’s going to expand the scope of BC Timber Sales. The organization manages 20 per cent of the province’s allowable annual cut for Crown/public timber and the auction of public timber. The government released a review of BC Timber Sales on Tuesday… A Chemainus mill is among two Western Forest Products mills in the Cowichan Valley facing lengthy curtailments, impacting more than 200 workers. …At the Paulcan Jemico mills in Chemainus, there are 50 people working despite tough times for the industry. The owner says profit margins are razor-thin while regulations are always increasing. “We’re making it to the point where no one wants to do business because there is so much uncertainty in what goes on in this industry,” said Paul Beltgens, owner of Paulcan Jemico Industries. Beltgens says unless conditions improve, there’s very little reason to invest in his company’s operations for the future.

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B.C. NDP promises on timber sales seem to be going in reverse

By Vaughn Palmer
Vancouver Sun
September 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

VICTORIA — Forests Minister Ravi Parmar this week announced major reforms to B.C. Timber Sales, hoping to reverse a two-thirds decline in sales volumes under the NDP. …Parmar said the government will broaden the agency’s mandate to focus on providing wood to support manufacturing, delivering jobs to communities and building partnerships with First Nations. The changes are prompted by a review conducted earlier this year by former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister George Abbott, Vanderhoof councillor Brian Frenkel and First Nations representative Lennard Joe. …Parmar didn’t understate the urgency of delivering logs to all the right places … that day’s Merritt Herald announced Aspen Planer mill was closing for “an indefinite period.” …The company doesn’t lack for wood supply on paper. …For all Parmar’s and Eby’s enthusiasm for boosting the annual harvest, they have not made believers of the Ministry of Finance in their own government.

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CIB loans $660 million towards Saint John Mill Modernization

By Canada Infrastructure Bank
Cision Newswire
September 26, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

SAINT JOHN, NB – The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has reached financial close on a $660 million loan to Irving Pulp & Paper to support the large-scale modernization of the company’s pulp mill in west Saint John, New Brunswick. Enabled by the CIB’s partnership, the modernization project consists of replacing 1970s era technology with current best-available solutions to improve productivity and maintain mill competitiveness within the sector. This includes a new recovery boiler, steam turbine and generator to produce up to 145 megawatts of renewable energy. Excess energy generated at the mill will be exported to the provincial grid under a power purchase agreement with NB Power, with approximately 50 megawatts being used to sustainably energize mill operations.

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The Softwood Lumber Board Generated 438 MM BF of Incremental Demand in Q2 2025

The Softwood Lumber Board
September 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

The SLB recently published its Q2 2025 Report, highlighting how the SLB and its funded programs are advancing a strategic approach to drive long-term demand for lumber—capturing measurable growth across multifamily, education, office, and warehouse projects while expanding adoption through code advancements, technical support, compelling content, and targeted education that equips architects, engineers, and developers with the tools to choose wood more often and at greater scale nationwide. Key highlights include:

  • 438 MM BF of incremental demand generated—67% light-frame, 24% mass timber, and 9% hybrid light-frame and mass timber for the quarter.
  • The SLB is advancing its “Niche to Mainstream” strategy to generate 2.9 BBF in new annual lumber demand by 2035. Building on more than a decade of measurable impact—including 16 BBF of incremental lumber demand generated since 2012—the SLB is prioritizing high-growth market segments while strengthening codes, education, and project support to protect, expand, and diversify lumber’s role in construction.

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Trump to put tariffs on cabinets, furniture, pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks

The Associated Press in CBC News
September 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

US President Trump said Thursday that he will put import taxes of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture and 25% on heavy trucks starting on Wednesday. Trump’s devotion to tariffs did not end with the trade frameworks that were launched in August, a reflection of the president’s confidence that taxes will help to reduce his government’s budget deficit while increasing domestic manufacturing. But the additional tariffs risk intensifying inflation that is already elevated, as well as slowing economic growth. …Trump said that foreign manufacturers of furniture and cabinetry were flooding the US with their products and that tariffs must be applied “for National Security and other reasons.” The new tariffs on cabinetry could further increase the costs for homebuilders when many people seeking to buy a house feel priced out by the mix of housing shortages and high mortgage rates.

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Roseburg Forest Products to Cease Hardwood Plywood Production

Roseburg Forest Products
September 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: US West

SPRINGFIELD, Oregon – Roseburg Forest Products announced today it has ceased operations at its Dillard Hardwood Plywood facility and will exit the hardwood plywood market. This strategic move reflects the company’s long-term plan to concentrate resources on a more focused product portfolio with sustained customer demand and long-term growth potential. The Dillard Hardwood Plywood plant, part of the company’s Dillard complex which also includes MDF and lumber production, was one of the company’s longest-operating facilities. The plant’s 107 team members are encouraged to apply for open positions at other facilities and will receive dedicated support and resources during the transition. All other operations at the Dillard complex will continue. While hardwood plywood has been part of Roseburg’s portfolio for decades, the market has shifted significantly, with lower-cost imports now accounting for roughly 80% of the U.S. market. The company’s decision to exit reflects a disciplined approach to long-term competitiveness and product alignment.

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Finance & Economics

Why Anti-Dumping Duties Make No Sense in Commodity Markets

By Alice Palmer
Sustainable Forests, Resilient Industry
September 19, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Alice Palmer

Is Canada swamping the US with cheap lumber? According to the US Commerce Department, the answer is “yes.” On July 25, the US imposed anti-dumping duties of over 20% on softwood lumber imports from Canada. This means that, according to the Commerce Department’s calculations, Canadian companies have been selling lumber into the US at rates some 20% below its fair market value. Yet, softwood lumber is a commodity product, meaning its price fluctuates with the balance of demand and supply in the marketplace. Therefore, lumber companies generally do not set their prices in the way that consumer products companies do. Instead, they negotiate each sale based on the going price market price. While lumber traders may sometimes offer a small discount to make a quick sale, a 20% discount would be unusual, even on a single sales transaction. Companies certainly would not want to sell at 20% below the market for a full year (the reference period over which the US Commerce Department calculates dumping margins). That would be insane. So, how is the US Commerce Department coming up with its numbers?

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Lumber Futures Holds Strong on Demand Expectations

Trading Economics
September 25, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures traded above $580 per thousand board feet in September, holding above earlier month lows as supply tightened and housing demand showed signs of renewal. Major producers such as Interfor reduced output through maintenance and shift cuts and mill idling while Canadian softwood flows remained constrained by tariff uncertainty which compressed prompt availability. Expectations of Fed further rate cuts later in 2025 encouraged forward looking builders to replenish inventories. New single family sales rose 20.5% to an 800k seasonally adjusted annualized rate in August which was the largest monthly rise since August 2022. Existing home sales held at a 4.00m SAAR in August and housing inventory stood at 1.53m units equivalent to 4.6 months of supply.

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B.C. lumber sector takes another hit from weak markets, low prices

By Derrick Penner
The Vancouver Sun
September 26, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Weakening U.S. housing construction has put another dark cloud over BC’s forest industry, increasing the likelihood of more mill shutdowns and layoffs. Lumber prices flatlined in recent weeks due to weak demand, just as new, higher duties in the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber dispute took effect. That means BC mills are operating at losses of up to US$220 per thousand board feet of two-by-fours, according to industry consultant Russ Taylor. …Taylor said market conditions during September are typically favourable for sawmills, but they’re decidedly negative this year. His forecast is that they will remain weak for the rest of the year, which will likely result in mills taking downtime. “We’re seeing it already,” said Kim Haakstad, CEO of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries. “We’re seeing temporary curtailments, we’re seeing extended holiday breaks, we’re seeing reconfigured shift schedules. …Haakstad said Parmar’s recognition of the urgency for change was encouraging.

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Interfor Announces $125 Million Bought Deal Offering of Common Shares

By Interfor Corporation
Cision Newswire
September 25, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada West

BURNABY, BC — Interfor announced that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank, under which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 12,437,800 common shares of the Company at a price of $10.05 per Common Share for gross proceeds of $125 million. The Company has agreed to grant the Underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the Common Shares. …The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to pay down existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes. …Proceeds of the Offering are expected to further enhance Interfor’s flexibility to navigate near-term market volatility.  The Offering is scheduled to close on or about October 1, 2025.

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Mortgage Rates Continue Downward Trend in September

By Catherine Koh
NAHB Eye on Housing
September 25, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Average mortgage rates in September trended lower as the bond market priced in expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.35%, 24 basis points (bps) lower than August. Meanwhile, the 15-year rate declined 21 bps to 5.50%. Despite the recent drop, rates remain higher than a year ago as last September saw the lowest levels in about two years. The 30-year rate is currently higher by 17 basis points (bps), and the 15-year rate is higher by 24 bps, year-over-year.  …Markets began pricing in rate cuts from the Fed at the start of the month, particularly after news that jobless claims rose while inflation remained modest. On September 17, the Federal Reserve announced a 25 bps cut to the federal funds rate, bringing the target range to 4.00% – 4.25%. Falling mortgage rates have already shown an impact on housing activity. 

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US Real GDP Increases at an Annual Rate of 3.8% in Q2, 2025

US Bureau of Economic Analysis
September 25, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.8% in the second quarter of 2025, according to the third estimate released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 0.6% (revised). The increase in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected a decrease in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and an increase in consumer spending. These movements were partly offset by decreases in investment and exports. Real GDP was revised up 0.5 percentage point from the second estimate, primarily reflecting an upward revision to consumer spending.  Compared to the first quarter, the upturn in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected a downturn in imports and an acceleration in consumer spending that were partly offset by a downturn in investment.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Mass timber applications include multi-family and schools, says expert

By Jami Makan
Business in Vancouver
September 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

©FPInnovations

Mass timber construction can help address the shortage of housing and schools in B.C., said one speaker at a wood conference in Vancouver this week. Multi-family residential is one particular area where the mass timber industry can quickly deliver new homes on a large scale, said Andrew Stiffman, vice-president of construction services with Castlegar, B.C.-based Kalesnikoff Mass Timber Inc. His Wednesday remarks at the Woodrise 2025 5th International Congress come as Canada’s federal government pledges billions in housing investment. “The need, especially here in Canada, is to deliver housing units fast,” Stiffman said. “We cannot deliver on those using conventional construction. It’s going to take too long, it’s too risky, it’s too costly, so we’re really excited to bring these [technologies] forward as a solution.” Mass timber construction involves the prefabrication of panels and “modules” that can be swiftly assembled on construction sites. 

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Forestry

Canada proposes actions to address “forever chemicals” in firefighting foams

By Environment and Climate Change Canada
Cision Newswire
September 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

GATINEAU, QC – In a continued effort to protect the health of people in Canada and the environment, the federal government is taking the next step in addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are a class of thousands of human-made substances that are also known as “forever chemicals”. These substances do not break down easily and have been found to be harmful to human health and the environment. Earlier this year, the federal government proposed a multi-phase risk management approach for PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers. Today, the Government is publishing the consultation document on Phase 1 of the proposed risk management for the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers. This phase proposes to address all known remaining uses of PFAS that are not already regulated in firefighting foams.

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Canada Supports Global Efforts to Manage and Restore Forests

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
September 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON – Today, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced over $1.44 million in funding for 10 projects under Natural Resources Canada’s Global Forest Leadership Program, delivered through the International Model Forest Network. This funding will help restore damaged ecosystems, support agroforestry and sustainable local businesses, empower Indigenous and local communities — especially women and youth — and improve global forest management and restoration. Healthy forests around the world contribute to carbon sequestration and climate resilience, benefitting Canadians and the global community. As a leader in sustainable forest management, Canada plays a key role in advancing sustainable forestry worldwide, and the federal government remains committed to sharing its expertise, fostering collaboration and helping restore, manage and conserve forests around the world to protect biodiversity and help tackle climate change and environmental damage.

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Canada’s forests: the roots of a resilient nation

By Marie-Michèle Rousseau-Clair
The Nature Conservancy Canada
September 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

This week, as we mark National Forest Week, people are reminded of how closely our lives are tied to forests. After another summer of wildfires and smoky skies in many parts of the country, the need to care for forests has never felt more urgent. It is more important than ever to have collaboration between all levels of government, the private sector and conservation groups to protect our nature-based infrastructure. Forests are one of Canada’s greatest resources and one of our natural assets. Their conservation and stewardship are essential in Canada’s efforts to fulfil its international commitments to nature. …The forest sector employs nearly 200,000 people across Canada and is the economic backbone of more than 300 communities. Think of all the products we use in our everyday lives, from lumber, paper, flooring and furniture to heating our homes just to name a few. While Canada’s forests may be abundant, they are under increasing pressure.

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U.S. funding cuts threaten wildlife on both sides of the Canadian border

By Olivia Gieger
The Narwhal
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

In many places, moose, bear, wolves and other wildlife can simply walk between the two nations. There are barriers — roads, development and a lack of protected habitat on either side — but for more than a century, relatively relaxed border policy and a shared sense of purpose saw conservationists in both countries working together to overcome them. Now, US President Trump has ratcheted up the challenges to cross-border conservation. …Many of Trump’s actions have explicit implications for cross-border conservation — in North America and globally. …Canadian conservation organizations have reported losing co-funding as a result of Trump’s cuts to foreign aid. As his administration has stretched staffing thin and proposed deep budget cuts at the US National Park Service, it ended funding many found crucial to habitat conservation work across the border. Trump has also withdrawn from the Green Climate Fund and the Paris Agreement.

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Franklin Forest Products faces challenges after wildfire

By Gord Kurbis
Alberni Valley News
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

In a career that has spanned nearly 40 years in the forestry industry, Michael McKay says he’s never had to face a situation like the one he’s staring at now. “This is probably one of the biggest, I mean with this fire and the current state of the industry, to have it all come together at once, it’s definitely about as tough as it’s been,” McKay said. The president of Franklin Forest Products is facing a perfect storm of problems but is pivoting as best he can to weather through it. The latest issue was the Mount Underwood Fire which started Aug. 11 and ended up destroying half of the company’s powerline despite his employees trying to save it. …The blaze interrupted the implementation of a new Gang Mill plant that would have added more staff to the company’s roster of 35 employees. …”It’s been four years and wood’s not coming out, there’s just no wood coming out of the bush and all we are is a bunch of too many squirrels chasing too few nuts,” McKay said.

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Trees Must Fall. A Provincial Park’s Wildfire Prescription

By Ryan Stuart
The Tyee
September 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

John Davies

Dragon Mountain Provincial Park is a forested hump south of Quesnel, with a gravel road to its summit and 600 metres of descending mountain bike trails through rocks, chutes and mature forest. …But where mountain bikers see a playground, wildfire experts see the makings of a disaster waiting to happen… “If there’s a forest fire on Dragon Mountain it would burn the whole thing,” said John Davies, a registered professional forester. “Viewpoints, mountain bike trails, ungulate habitat, the forest — everything would be gone.” Davies is a mountain biker and appreciates the riding potential. But he has also spent 25 years fighting fires… Today he works for Forsite, a forestry consultancy that develops wildfire protection and risk reduction plans for cities and parks across the province, including for Dragon Mountain. …“We have to make sure the value will exist after a fire,” Davies said. “That requires removing trees. There’s no other way to do it.”

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Meeting America’s Reforestation Needs — Why the H-2B Visa Program Is More Critical Than Ever

By Tim O’Hara, FRA President
Forest Resources Association
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

As wildfires continue to reshape America’s forest landscapes, the demand for reforestation has surged—and with it, the need for seasonal forestry workers. The H-2B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for temporary non-agricultural jobs, has become essential in restoring public and private forestlands and supporting rural economies. Forestry contractors rely heavily on H-2B workers to perform essential seasonal tasks, including: Tree planting after timber harvests or natural disturbances; Site preparation and vegetation management; and Reforestation of public and private lands. These workers plant over 85% of the trees on U.S. forestlands following a timber harvest or natural disturbance, making them indispensable to national reforestation efforts. …As policymakers consider reforms to the H-2B program, it’s vital they understand the ecological and economic stakes tied to forestry labor. 

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Staff shortages pull Idaho Forest Service office workers into fire roles

By Lauren Paterson
Oregon Public Broadcasting
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

IDAHO — After a slew of firings and deferred resignations last winter, the loss of federal workers left holes throughout the Northwest. “When we get to peak fire season, it’s kind of an all-hands-on-deck call, if you will,” said Jim Wimer, a fire prevention officer for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. US Forest Service employees who are normally in the office — like wildlife biologists or hydrologists — jumped in to help with fire information this summer, he said. …Workers even drove trucks with supplies to wildfires, often working overtime to help, he said. Not only does it help local fire efforts, but it also gets people out to other parts of the country to gain unique experiences and helps other forests that are in similar situations, Wimer said. …This year, there have been 364 fires on land the agency manages, but not a lot of acreage burned, he said.

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Judge temporarily pauses logging and prescribed burning in Hoosier National Forest

By Sophie Hartley
IndyStar
September 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

INDIANA — The controversial and slow-moving forest management plan inside the Hoosier National Forest hit another roadblock last week. All related activities — including timber sales, prescribed burns, road construction — have been temporarily halted by a court order. The Houston South Project would have opened up about 13,500 acres of the Hoosier National Forest to prescribed burning, 4,000 acres to logging, 2,000 acres to herbicide application and 400 acres to clearcutting. Opponents of the Houston South Project say this ruling is a meaningful step in the right direction.  …Groups like the Indiana Forest Alliance have argued that cutting, spraying and burning on the steep slopes could lead to pollution in the reservoir jeopardizing drinking water quality and public health for the 130,000 people in the Bloomington area. …Chief Judge Tanya Pratt halted the project after finding that the USFS violated the National Environmental Policy Act in failing to consider the potential environmental impacts of the plan.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

34 Nations Launch Forest Finance Blueprint At New York Climate Week

By Theodora Stankova
Carbon Herald
September 25, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

At New York Climate Week, a coalition of 34 national governments unveiled a decisive blueprint called the Forest Finance Roadmap for Action, aimed at closing the substantial funding shortfall undermining global efforts to halt deforestation. The plan, developed in partnership with Brazil and backed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), targets the estimated $66.8 billion annual finance gap in tropical nations. The roadmap distinguishes itself as the first unified framework to bring together governments from both the Global North and South under a shared agenda for forest finance, according to an announcement made by the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP). It seeks to move beyond pledge-making toward deployable, investment-ready strategies aligned with the COP30 Action Agenda and the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration.

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Forest Carbon: Store it or Burn it? Actually, Both is Best

University of California, Merced
September 25, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

Storing carbon in forests is an essential, nature-based buffer against climate change. Yet forests packed with too many trees increase the threat of severe wildfires… A team of UC Merced and collaborating researchers evaluated the tradeoffs between two seemingly opposing scenarios: Trees are critical because they pull carbon dioxide from the air, preventing carbon from adding to greenhouse effects that trap heat and warm the atmosphere; and the increasing severity and danger of wildfires call for the thinning of overly dense forests. The researchers found that the best approach is a combination of both. They reported that forests can provide wildfire safety and be effective carbon collectors if trees are selectively harvested and turned into long-lived wood products. …The researchers concluded that the Sierra Nevada can remain a long-term carbon sink if land managers thin small trees, store carbon from harvested biomass in durable wood products, and use prescribed fire strategically.

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Big trees in Amazon more climate-resistant than previously believed

By Jonathan Watts
The Guardian
September 25, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

The biggest trees in the Amazon are growing larger and more numerous, according to a new study that shows how an intact rainforest can help draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequester it in bark, trunk, branch and root. Scientists said the paper, was confirmation that big trees are proving more climate resilient than previously believed, and undisturbed tropical vegetation continues to act as an effective carbon sink despite rising temperatures and strong droughts. However, the authors warned this vital role was increasingly at risk from fires, fragmentation and land clearance… “It is qualified good news,” said Prof Oliver Phillips from the University of Leeds. “Our results apply only to intact, mature forests, which is where we are watching closely. They suggest the Amazon forest is remarkably resilient to climate change. My fear is that may count for little, unless we can stop the deforestation itself.”

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Health & Safety

Fall WorkSafe Magazine I Easier online injury reporting

WorkSafeBC
September 25, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

Fall issue of WorkSafe Magazine

The latest issue of WorkSafe Magazine includes stories that show how employers across B.C. are finding practical ways to protect workers and strengthen safety culture.

  • Find out how commercial bakeries are tackling ergonomic risks and industry-wide hazards.
  • Build skills for trainee tower crane operators with insights from a safety officer.
  • Learn about steps crews and employers are taking to prevent serious injuries when working near traffic.

Read the Fall 2025 issue of WorkSafe Magazine »

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Forest Fires

Growing wildfire near Peachland, B.C., prompts evacuation order

CBC News
September 25, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

A new wildfire near Peachland, B.C., has grown rapidly Thursday evening and forced residents of 325 addresses to evacuate. More than 1,100 properties are under an evacuation alert, which means residents should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. The Central Okanagan Regional District announced the evacuation order Thursday at 6 p.m. PT and added the evacuation alert at around 7:45 p.m. PT. The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the fire near Munro Lake — about six kilometres southwest of Peachland — is also threatening the Munro Lake Forest Service Road and the Peachland Main Road. The fire has grown to 0.7 square kilometres (74.3 hectares). Shae Stearns, a BCWS fire information officer said the fire is currently burning at Rank 3, a classification that indicates a moderately vigorous surface fire. More than 40 personnel are working on the fire, according to Stearns, as well as air tankers and four helicopters.

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