Role of forests in climate change mitigation (koli forum)

1. @MarcPalahí
Role of forests in climate change mitigation
Circular Economy Forum 2017, Helsinki
Forest-Based Bioeconomy and Climate Change Mitigation

2. The fossil-based era: a story of global economic
convergence
2.6.2017 2
Source: Kharas 2017. The unprecedented expansion of the global middle class
Credit: Vostok ice core data/J.R. Petit et al.; NOAA Mauna Loa CO2 record
and environmental divergence
By 2030, 2 billion
more people in
the global middle
class

3. A new paradigm to ensure prosperity within planetary
boundaries
2.6.2017 3
Circular bioeconomy
Where biological
resources and not
fossil ones become
the basis for the
economy
The Energy
sector, in the
long run, can be
decarbonize, but
the production
of materials will
still depend on
“carbon”

4. Forests, our most important biological infrastructure
Covering 43% of EU land
 Key for the resilience of our continent:
biodiversity, water and soil
 Climate change mitigation effect equivalent
to 13% of CO2 emissions
 Main source of non-food, non-feed
renewable biological resources
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5. Wood construction for climate smart cities
 The construction and use of
buildings responsible for 35% of
CO2 emissions and 42% of energy
consumption in EU
 Cement and Steel: dominating
materials
 1 t steel = 1.7 t CO2
 1 t cement = 1 t CO2
 10% of EU CO2 emissions
2.6.2017
Erkki Oksanen, LUKE
 2 t of CO2 are avoided by using 1
t of wood instead of Portland
cement
 If all new buildings used 50% of
wood as material,… that would
compensate the entire emissions
of cement production for the sector

6. Sustainable forest management: key for a resilient carbon
sink
Source: C. Gracia,
CREAF
Increase drought resistance and fire risk reduction
1992, Catalonia 1994, Catalonia
Annual global emissions from wildland fires result in 7.34 Gtn CO2
Source: van der Werf et al., 2010

7. Climate change mitigation potential of forestry
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Globally, additional mitigation potential of afforestation,
reducing deforestation and forest management:
1.9-5.5 Gt CO2/yr in 2040 at 20 US$/tCO2
At EU level, forestry measures (incl. resilience) and bioeconomy
development could increase the mitigation potential by 35-70%
by 2050 depending on the level of ambition.

8. SFM AND
FOREST AREA
EXPANSION
RESILIENCEBIOECONOMY
Unlocking the potential of our forests in addressing
climate change requires a long-term and holistic
virtuous cycle:
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