Earlier today, the wood industry’s COP26 International Partners Advisory Body launched its wood manifesto entitled “Growing our Low Carbon Future: Time for Timber”. Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has been a leading partner in this collaborative global effort to profile the key role timber and wood use in construction can play in our move to a net-zero carbon economy.
As government leaders and policy makers search for solutions to green infrastructure, today’s announcement demonstrates the carbon-storing power of wood products to create more sustainable cities and a cleaner economy. The paper makes the case for greater use of wood in construction as a major solution toward a more climate-resilient economy. It also recognizes that wood is the only sustainable structural material that grows worldwide and is renewable. It has the potential to enable a substantial decarbonization of the built environment in Canada and around the world.
“Given the abundance of Canada’s forest resources, along with our commitment to keeping them as forests forever, today’s announcement showcases the opportunity we have to displace fossil fuel-intensive materials and help decarbonize the built environment while providing green jobs to Canadians,” stated Derek Nighbor, President and CEO at Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). Nighbor is also President of the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA).
“Forestry is one of the few sectors that can go beyond net-zero carbon. While the built environment provides a huge opportunity for green transformation, it doesn’t end there,” Nighbor said. “Other sectors like cement and steel are also starting to realize the potential of wood fibre-based biomaterials to help them lower the carbon footprints of their operations. As we plan for a future that is more sustainable and leaves no one behind, we have a real opportunity before Canadian forestry communities and workers - to use more wood and wood fibre based products to drive a greener economic recovery,” Nighbor added.
To read the full report, please visit: https://worldofwoodfestival.org/timefortimber/
FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. As an industry with annual revenues exceeding $80B, Canada’s forest products sector is one of the country’s largest employers operating in over 600 communities, providing 230,000 direct jobs, and over 600,000 indirect jobs across the country.
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