Climate Change
Background
From carefully managing private forests that absorb carbon dioxide, to manufacturing products that store carbon and are made from renewable and recyclable raw materials, to generating and using renewable energy, the forest products industry provides valuable solutions to climate change. In the U.S., forests and forest products absorb and store over 10 percent of annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, AF&PA member pulp and paper companies reduced their greenhouse gas emissions per ton of product by 14% from 2000 to 2008.
As federal, state, and international governments develop mandatory programs to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, policymakers can strengthen these efforts by recognizing the contributions of forests and forest products. Understanding and responding to cost implications is critical as well, since preserving the U.S. forest products industry’s global competitiveness is essential to preserving its continued contributions to reducing greenhouse gases.
Policy
AF&PA members recognize climate change as an issue of significant global concern. AF&PA advocates environmentally responsible science-based policies that balance environmental, social, and economic elements.
AF&PA promotes climate change policies that
Recognize the forest products industry’s important role in reducing greenhouse gases.
- Recognize the contributions of sustainably managed forests and wood and paper products to sequester and store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases.
- Recognize the contributions of recycling to reduce greenhouse gases.
- Credit early action and incentivize continued progress in emissions reduction.
- Retain the internationally recognized principle of carbon neutrality of biomass fuels.
- Ensure that policies promote sound forest management practices.
Strengthen, rather than hinder, the competitiveness of the forest products industry and the U.S. economy.
- Achieve global reductions in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at the lowest cost.
- Promote parallel actions by high-emitting competitor nations.
- Ensure a diverse, stable, and affordable energy supply.
- Be flexible, cost-effective, and economy-wide.
- Not disrupt existing markets and local economies, nor hinder development of new markets.
- Encourage long-term, high impact solutions by aligning targets with capital investment cycles.
- Establish a single national program rather than be subject to varying requirements across jurisdictions.
Support research and development of technologies to capture or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Advance existing and breakthrough low-carbon technologies for energy production and use.
- Create program certainty to encourage necessary research, capital investment, and technology deployment.
- Include measuring and reporting methods that are simple, credible, transparent, and cost-effective