The sound use of wood from an industries perspective

1. The sound use of wood from an industries perspective Impacts of the EU energy policy on the woodworking industries Dr.ir. Chris Van Riet Poiana Braşow, 25 March 2003

2. The sound use of wood from an industries perspective • Introduction • EU energy policy impact study 2000 • Impact on the woodworking industries, as observed by the end of 2002 • Sustainable management of resources & respect for the carbon cycle • Conclusionsandrecommendations

3. Introduction • The EWWI(EU15): • Two million employees • Over 42,000 companies, • 165 billion EUR/year of turnover • Pioneer in sustainable use of resources • Process heating (up to 91% needs) and CHP with wood biomass unsuitable for recycling • Supporting sustainable forest management • Continuously improving recycling rates

4. EU energy policy impact study 2000 • 1997: White Paper on renewable energy • Target WP: double the contribution of renewable energyby 2010; • Biomass, mainly wood, to triple its contribution => Scenario analysis: • White Paper • Business as Usual • Foresters • MinimumPain

6. Percentage wood price change 1996-2010

7. EU energy policy impact study 2000 conclusions • The industry “will hardly, if at all” be able to absorb the shift which will be induced by the White Paper “without detrimental effects” • “A reduced target for wood could be compensated by increased targets for other bio-fuels”

8. Impact on woodworkingindustries, as observed by the end of 2002 • Increasing shortage of wood raw material for the wood-based industries • Growing use of other materials and products which are: • not renewable • sometimes recyclable and • always less energy-efficient • Increasing pressure on the forest resource

9. Increased pressure - some examples • In Sweden today wood-based panels have a market value of 1.3 SEK/kg, energy pellets sell at 2.3 SEK/kg; • In Sweden and Denmark a particleboard and an MDF plant respectively had to close, due to raw materials’ price increases; • In S1/2002, prices of sawdust and wood chips imported from Austria into Italy, for the production of wood-based panels, increased by 15 to 50%>< 2001; • Prices of coniferous logs increased by 23% with a tendency to grow towards 35%: • Woodworking plants in Italy and France declared to have lost raw material suppliers to electricity producers.

10. Sustainable resource managementand respect for the carbon cycle • Thanks to sustainable Forest Management the WWI has not been detrimental to the forest resource: European forestsgrow by 4m³/sec • Using wood extracted from the forest for manufacturing products contributes to sustainable development: • Wood products are carbon sinks • Wood products require little energy for manufacturing • Wood products are an energy source at their end of life

12. Sustainable resource managementand respect for the carbon cycle • The value chain of the wood resource is presently not respected: => material suitable for the production ofwood-based products, is used directly for energy generation • The energy market is not governed by free market principles: => unbalanced energy subsidies

13. Sustainable resource managementand respect for the carbon cycle Let wood products functionally cascade: • Primary product • Re-use and/or • Recycle • Eventuallyuse as energy source

14. Sustainable resource managementand respect for the carbon cycle • More intensified usage of wood residues, currently left behind in the forests • Further improved techniques for growing forests, resulting in: • increased yield per hectare of forest • improved quality of harvested wood towards final applications • Reforestation of agricultural land, recurrently becoming available for alternative purposes.

15. Sustainable resource managementand respect for the carbon cycle • Increased recycling and re-use of wood, counterbalancingwood for biomass energy needs • Another example: future combustion of recycled wood in Germany • Available amount of recycled wood: 3.5 Mill. Tonnes/y • Wood power stations planned: 60 • Future energy need: 4.5 Mill. Tonnes/y • Wood-based panel industry needs: 6 Mill. Tonnes/y

16. Sustainable resource management – the other two pillars

19. The sound use of wood from an industries perspective Next Steps ??????

20. Conclusionsandrecommendations • Avoid massive burning of wood for purely energetic reasons • Respect the value chain of wood-based products as long-lasting pools of carbon,substantially contributing to climate change mitigation • Do not “subsidise away” wood as a raw material for durable applications by favouring the firing of trees, unless locally socio-economic and environmental considerations are compelling

21. Conclusionsandrecommendations(2) • Recognise the superior eco-efficiency of wood-based products and their supreme properties in recycling, with minimal energy use, as compared to other materials; • Focus future EU and member states research policies on efficient recovery of forest residues and development of biomass crops specifically grown for energy generation; • Reconsider and adapt the “163 million m³ fuelwood-for-energy” to a realistic target level

22. The sound use of wood from an industries perspective • Adopt sincere and visionary thinking about long-term strategies for wood resource use • Use a realistic and balanced approach consideringall three pillars of sustainable development And:only burn wood after it has been fully and soundly used

23. The European wood-based industries thank you for a sound future use of wood.I thank you for your attention