Global warming is a major concern. Reducing energy use and improving technologies will be the main ways to reduce climate change. In addition, our choices about the materials we use have also a significant effect on the carbon dioxide emissions which are one of the main causes of global warming.

In Europe we can increase the carbon sink created by our forests by continuing their expansion. We can also help reduce CO2 emissions by choosing sustainably produced wood and paper products. These products help reduce climate change in four ways.

Storage

of the forest’s carbon right through the life of the products – and beyond, through recycling

Substitution

for other products which produce higher CO2 emissions

Recovery

of the energy stored in the wood at the end of the products’ life by combustion as a substitute for fossil fuels

Renewal

of the forests, as timber use stimulates the expansion and of Europe’s forests, increasing the carbon sink effect as well as sequestering more CO2 from the atmosphere.