Key points and concepts in today's forestry discussion

Good morning,

To fell or conserve? The debate on forestry can sometimes seem black-and-white, but it is a highly nuanced discussion. With nuances also comes complexity – here are some essential points that help to navigate today's forestry discourse.

• The context: 90 % of Finnish forests that grow at a considerable pace are commercial forests, meaning that in addition to establishing conservation sites, there is a need to combine ecological enhancement measures with forestry practices. Also, due to the war in Ukraine, wood is no longer imported from Russia; there is now an increasing demand for domestic wood, heating the forest discussion.

• Nature management is a method of ecological enhancement that is implemented in commercial forests. It refers to all forestry measures that do not aim for better wood production or other financial goals but to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. An example of nature management is leaving dead or fallen retention trees in the forest after a felling.

• Carbon sinks refer to the amount of CO2 that is sequestrated from the atmosphere. Forests form an essential part of Finland's carbon sinks; they also have a vital role in meeting the national carbon neutrality target of 2035. However, current felling volumes threaten to risk this goal.

• International forest policy adds to the complexity. As part of the EU, Finland must follow the LULUCF (Land use and forestry) regulation: there should be zero net emissions from the land use sector in 2021-2025 and 2026-2030 (no-debit rule). The current trajectory risks meeting this goal as the net carbon sinks have shrunk: although emission levels have decreased, the carbon sink of the land use sector has also diminished.

• Future trends in forestry: the Finnish forest industry has started to show interest in products with a high degree of processing. These refer to innovations and products that add more value with smaller felling volumes: forest fiber is an example of such innovation. At the same time, the global demand for paper has been falling. Amid vast uncertainty, one thing is for sure: the forest industry must change, and the pressure comes from multiple directions.

EU's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

UK's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

Reuters | World not ready yet to 'switch off' fossil fuels, COP28 host UAE says. The United Arab said that countries should agree to phase out fuel emissions - not the production of oil, gas and coal. The comments reflect deep divisions between nations over how to combat global warming ahead of the COP28 talks. Some wealthy Western governments and climate-afflicted island nations have been pushing for a phase out of fossil fuels, while resource-rich countries have campaigned to keep drilling.

Politico | EU lawmakers back tougher rules on methane emissions. The legislation, proposed by the European Commission in December 2021, applies only to the energy sector which is responsible for about a fifth of the bloc’s methane emissions.

The Guardian | Microbes discovered that can digest plastics at low temperatures. Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute WSL have found microbes that can do this at 15°C, a potential breakthrough in microbial recycling.

Reuters | China to implement stricter vehicle emissions standards from July 1. According to a statement from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China will ban production, imports and sales of vehicles that do not comply with the country's new emission standards. The new standards include stricter requirements on pollutants including carbon monoxide of gas and petrol vehicles.

Reuters | Environmental groups take Italy's Eni to court over climate change. Environmental groups Greenpeace and ReCommon launched a lawsuit against Italian energy group Eni for contributing to climate change with its fossil fuel businesses.

CNN | More than 29,000 people are evacuated from communities throughout Alberta as wildfires rage in Canada. Wildfires have burned a total of 390,000 hectares in Alberta so far this year.

The Guardian | More than 400 people now confirmed dead after flooding in Democrati Republic of the Congo. Intense flooding and landslides that hit the DRS’s South Kivu province last week.

Yle | Finnish researchers develop a nature footprint calculator for businesses. Similar to carbon footprint, it is among the first initiatives to help companies evaluate their operations' impact on nature.

Yle | The upcoming Finnish government will have to pay billions in costs for the collapse of carbon sinks -the Finnish Climate Change Panel chair. The chairperson Markku Ollikainen urges the government to buy carbon sink units, as the Finnish land use sector is currently a source of emissions, instead of a carbon sink.

HS | IEA: Finland should accelerate the implementation of wind and solar energy. Finland gets praised for its capabilities in nuclear and renewable energy, and they lay a good foundation for reaching carbon neutrality in the upcoming decade, the International Energy Association report said.

Maaseudun tulevaisuus | Nearly 100 000 hectares of saples will be planted this spring. Around 30 % of the 170 000 saplings are pines, 65 % spruces, and 4 % silver birches.

Dagens Nyheter | Wild bison to be reintroduced in Sweden. Approximately 8000 years ago, wild bisons lived in Sweden and in the Carpathians until the 1920s. Starting this spring, the Forest Society and Sweden's University of Agriculture will investigate the consequences of free-living bison on the foundation's forest property Svanå in Västmanland.

Reuters | Agency warns Sweden may miss CO2 targets with biofuel cut. Sweden will struggle to hit its 2030 emissions targets, a government agency warned on Monday, after the country's minority coalition cut the biofuel that must be added to diesel and gasoline. The right-wing Sweden Democrats-backed coalition government has already cut fuel taxes, raised tax breaks for people driving to work and ended new electric vehicles subsidies.

STT | Review: Finnish companies produce social good – at the expense of the environment. Jobs and infrastructure create social welfare, but this happens too often at the cost of nature and climate, according to the UN Global Compact study.

Reuters | US, UAE climate-friendly farming fund grows to $13 bln. Funding for a U.S. and United Arab Emirates-led initiative to make the world's farming more environmentally friendly and resilient to climate change has grown to more than $13 billion. The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) was launched in 2021.

Reuters | U.S. launches $4 billion effort to electrify U.S. ports, cut emissions. The Biden administration on Friday launched a $4 billion effort to electrify U.S. ports and cut heavy duty truck emissions as the government looks to address disproportionate impacts on nearby communities.

Yle | Tero Mustonen, the winner of the Goldman environmental award, will use the prize money to restore a 73-hectare forest in Inari. Mustonen is the first Finnish person to receive the award.

HS | Skarta Energy, Business Tornio plan a 100-hectare solar power plant in Northern Finland. The investment is estimated to value €60 M.

STT | Sinebrychoff report on sustainable development: reduced energy and water consumption. The brewery has also been carbon neutral since 2021.

Virtual consulting may significantly reduce carbon footprint in health care. Health systems globally need to rapidly set and achieve targets for reaching net zero carbon emissions. Virtual consulting (including video- and telephone-based consulting) is regarded as one means by which this might be achieved, largely through reduced patient travel. The review shows that virtual consultations offer one means to help with health systems becoming more sustainable. While adoption and spread of virtual consulting needs to be considered alongside a range of system, organisational, clinical and patient-related factors, when done well and at scale, they offer significant potential for carbon savings, primarily through reductions in travel. (Journal of Medical Internet Research)

Researchers discover a cause of rapid ice melting in Greenland. While conducting a study of Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland, researchers uncovered a previously unseen way in which the ice and ocean interact. The glaciologists said their findings could mean that the climate community has been vastly underestimating the magnitude of future sea level rise caused by polar ice deterioration. Using satellite radar data from three European missions, the UCI/NASA team learned that Petermann Glacier's grounding line, where ice detaches from the land bed and begins floating in the ocean shifts substantially during tidal cycles. This allows warm seawater to intrude and melt ice at an accelerated rate. The article was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. (Science Daily)

Picture of the week

Illustration of the LULUCF (Land use and forestry) sector's carbon sink development in Finland