Die Wald-Holz-Option, eine Brücke zwischen Klimapolitik und Wirtschaft – zehn Thesen | The forest/wood option: a bridge between climate politics and the economy - ten theses

Abstract

Since the beginning of industrialisation the CO2 content in the Earth's atmosphere has increased from approx. 280 ppmv to approx. 370 ppmv today. Despite all national measures and international agreements to reduce them, CO2 emissions will roughly double over the coming decades (carbon emissions:5.6 billion tonnes in 1990; 12.0 billion tonnes in 2050). The forest/wood option has six components: • Avoiding CO2 emissions with forest protection measures • Priority protection for natural forests that represent important carbon reservoirs. • Increase of the fixation of carbon in forest ecological systems and wood products • Increase in biomass and therefore the carbon reservoir via sustainable forest management; • Creation of CO2 sinks by afforesting deforested areas, as well as the regeneration of partially cleared or degraded forests; the creation of nurseries on agricultural land; • By creating sustainable yield the carbon reservoir of the forest can be extended for the duration of its use via wood products (product – reservoir). • Lowering CO2 emissions by substitution • Energetic use of wood from sustainable forest management instead of fossil fuels avoids additional CO2 emissions,as the CO2 released from wood is recaptured and embedded in the biomass; • Use of wood instead of energy intensive materials such as steel, aluminium, cement or stone, avoids CO2 emissions. Taking natural and socio-economic conditions into account the possibilities of the forest/wood option can be implemented in a number countries. Flat, open regions with some forest stands are the best locations for afforestation, which, owing to their socio-economic circumstances, provide suitable conditions for sustainable forest management. The more than two hundred years experience with sustainable forest management and use of wood gained by European foresters and forest scientists should be made available to countries outside Europe for the implementation of the forest/wood option.