Forests, climate change and the forest industry - Bali Side Event

Brussels, Belgium, December 6, 2007

The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and FAO, is pleased to announce its upcoming side event to be held in conjunction with the international climate change negotiations in Bali, Indonesia.

The event, entitled "Forests, climate change and the forest industry – The business perspective"  will be held on Saturday, 8 December 2007, 12:00 -13:30, in the Banda Room, of the Ayodya Resort Bali.

One of the key themes in COP13 will be the various roles of forests and forestry in climate change, which are extensively discussed in chapter 9 of the fourth assessment report (Working Group III). Sustainable forest management, including afforestation and reforestation, are key themes as are the activities of the forest industry sector.

The forest industry (private forest owners, forest products companies) has several roles in the climate change debate. One role is as an eco-efficient user of energy and responsible manager of greenhouse gasses emissions. Others include sustainable forest management, producers of woodbased products and enablers of new technologies for biofuels, bio-chemicals, etc. These different roles of the forest industry in climate change are expanding and becoming clearer as the scientific and policy debates develop; including carbon sequestration in wood products, the deployment of intensively managed planted forests to meet expanded demand for fibres (for products and energy) and the production of bio-energy/fuels.

The goal of the side event is to present the business perspective on forests, forestry and climate change. This side event aims at introducing the industry and presenting the latest studies and material on these different roles. The side event will combine presentations, an expert panel and audience discussion in order to be able to explore some shared conclusions on the future role of  the sustainable forest products industry.

Have an opinion or want to learn more about forests and forestry related industries then come and join the discussion.

For more information please contact Marco Mensink, m.mensink@cepi.org, Tel: +32 475 769388

Presentations can be downloaded here.