Webinar announcement: the Transatlantic Trade in Wood for Energy

19 February 2014 News

We need to expand our understanding of sustainability concepts beyond simple growth-to-drain calculations: this is one of the key findings on sustainability standards and greenhouse gas emissions in the transatlantic wood pellet trade set to be announced in an upcoming webinar.

Europe’s demand for imported wood pellets is increasing and expected to reach 60 million tons a year in the next two decades – most of which will come from the USA and Canada. At the same time, the European Union has been developing sustainability criteria to ensure that any solid biomass used for renewable energy – including wood pellets - entering Europe is produced sustainably.

On Thursday 27 February, Brian Kittler from the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and Tat Smith from the University of Toronto and IEA Bioenergy Task 43 are holding a webinar to present the key findings emerging from a workshop which gathered 60 experts and stakeholders to analyze and debate complex sustainability issues related to this growing trade in wood pellets between the USA and Europe.

Interested parties are invited to register online for the webinar, which will take place 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM EST Thursday 27 February 2014. After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The workshop was part of a 2013 Collaboration Fund supported project organized by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Tasks 40 and 43 to improve the communication and coordination between the main biomass producer and consumer stakeholders in Europe and the USA. Some of the key points raised during the workshop highlighted the need to:

• Clarify understanding of how pellet demand may affect forests and forest products markets in the future,
• Negotiate scientifically robust and effective European sustainability and develop procedures for satisfying these criteria within the USA,
• Continue the dialogue around biogenic and combustion emissions.

In addition to the upcoming webinar, the report ‘The Transatlantic Trade in Wood for Energy: A Dialogue on Sustainability Standards and Greenhouse Gas Emissions’ is also available, summarizing the major themes and conclusions emerging from the workshop.

Collaboration Fund

The PEFC Collaboration Fund is a yearly competitive small grants program supporting efforts to advance sustainable forest management and forest certification around the world by members and partner organizations. The 2014 Collaboration Fund was launched earlier this year and PEFC is already receiving applications for a wide variety of projects. For more information, including instructions on how to apply, please visit the PEFC International website.