15 years 3 months ago
July 15, 2009: The UK has released its Low Carbon Transition Plan. The Plan plots out how the UK will meet the cut in emissions set out in the budget of 34% on 1990 levels by 2020.
The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan: National strategy for climate and energy. Chapter 7: Transforming farming and managing our land and waste sustainably. Page 160-161:
Protecting, managing, and growing our forests
In 2007, forests in England removed a net total of about 2.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This removal rate is declining, as forests planted in the 1950s to 1980s reach...
15 years 3 months ago
June 23, 2009: European Commission contributes € 4.5 million to EU FLEGT Facility hosted by EFI to fight illegal logging
European Commission strengthens its support to the implementation of the EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) by contributing € 4.5 million to the EU FLEGT Facility at the European Forest Institute (EFI). This support will primarily support the process of negotiating and implementing Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA), bilateral trade agreements between the EU and wood exporting countries. These agreements aim at improving forest...
15 years 3 months ago
4.7.2009: America's 4 July bonfires served a dual purpose yesterday. They burned the wood of trees destroyed by a trio of bugs that are devastating parts of the nation's forests.
With 750 million acres of forests in the United States, the scale of the problem is massive. Since 1999, the country has lost, on average, 1 per cent of its tree cover per year. This means these small insects have killed about 10 per cent of all US forests in 10 years.
Two of the bugs, says the government, have the potential to destroy $700bn (£429bn) worth of forests.
Already, one beetle – the emerald ash...
15 years 3 months ago
Friday, 26th of June 2009: The bill (HR 2454) passed 219-212, with eight Republican "yes" votes tipping the balance. Forty-four Democrats voted against the bill.
The 1,201-page bill is considered the broadest piece of legislation ever considered by Congress aimed at capping greenhouse gas emissions and placing a price on carbon. Under the bill, emissions would be cut 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. The massive bill tries to do it all and through a lengthy negotiating process to ensure its passage, it’s also loaded with compromises. But even with those...
15 years 4 months ago
Sunday, 14th of June 2009: An Italian court has ordered the recall of 10,000 tonnes of wood fuel pellets imported from Lithuania over fears that they could have dangerous levels of radioactivity, newspapers reported on Sunday.
A 'radioactive' sign is seen during a protest in Moscow. An Italian court has ordered the recall of 10,000 tonnes of wood fuel pellets imported from Lithuania over fears that they could have dangerous levels of radioactivity.The alarm was raised after someone in the northern
Aosta Valley region, who had bought the pellets, sent them for analysis because they did not...
15 years 4 months ago
...for Finland
Wednesday, June 10th 2009:
Vladimir Putin just confirmed not to rise export duties on roundwood for Finland as long as the economic downturn crises lasts.
Both Governments concluded a bilateral timber trade commitment reports Business Support Bureau "Runa"
Monday, 10th of August 2009:
President Dmitry Medvedev called for “intensified talks” with Finland
President Dmitry Medvedev called for “intensified talks” with Finland and China on exports of raw timber, saying that Russia needs to develop its domestic wood-products industry.
“The situation is outrageous and has been for...
15 years 4 months ago
House panel approves climate change bill
Reporting by Tom Doggett and Richard Cowan, Source: Copyright 2009, Reuters, Date: May 21, 2009
Original URL
A key U.S. House of Representatives committee on Thursday approved legislation to tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, one of President Barack Obama's chief policy goals. The House Energy and Commerce committee voted mostly along party lines to approve the measure that was written by Democrats, clearing it for review by other committees that also are expected to pass it. Democratic leaders hope to get the bill...
15 years 5 months ago
19th of May 2009: Hawkins Wright has published the first report about Forest Energy - The Forest Energy Monitor (Text from archive for Download, 1.8 MB).
It's quite interesting what the consultancy has discovered so far:
Pulpwood is normally outside the reach of energy buyers, but with demand from
traditional end-users falling, prices of pulpwood have dropped to levels barely
higher than those of energy wood. Consequently, in Sweden for example, pulpwood
is now being chipped for energy uses, either for heat and power or pellts. The
same is true elsewhere, although in some areas the trend...
15 years 5 months ago
Apr 23, 2009: New study warns that forests are at risk of becoming net sources of carbon instead of net sinks
The critical role of forests as massive 'sinks' for absorbing greenhouse gases is "at risk of being lost entirely" to climate change-induced environmental stresses that threaten to damage and even decimate forests worldwide, according to a new report released today. The report was formally presented at the UNFF8 side-event 'Making Forests Fit For Change – IUFRO-Led Activities at the Science-Policy Interface' on 22 April 2009.
'Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change – A...
15 years 6 months ago
Der Vorschlag der EU gibt den EU Staaten viel Freiheit - hoffentlich wird diese Freiheit in Österreich diesmal zum Wohle der Volkswirtschaft genutzt!
BONN, 2.4.2009: Die EU hat ihre Vorstellungen rund um die Senken/Emissionsleistung von Wäldern vorgestellt. Geht es nach der EU, dann soll jedes Land, basierend auf historischen Daten, eine sogenannte "baseline" für den CO2 Inhalt der entsprechenden Speichermassen im Wald wählen. Zunahmen bzw. Abnahmen in den Kohlenstoffspeichern des Waldes sollten sodann relativ zu dieses Basisline gemessen und sodann als Last- oder Gutschriften verbucht werden...