Following the agreements of the last world summit on climate change in Durban, in March the European Commission published the report and legislative proposal of the Decision (COM (2012) 93 & 94) to introduce wood products accounting in the mitigation policy of greenhouse gas emissions, due to their forest origin.
The proposal, which is still to be ratified by the European Parliament, points out the obligatory nature of accounting the fixing effect of wood products during their useful life, beyond the felling of trees.
While the useful life for paper is estimated to be 2 years, it is 25 years for wood boards, and 35 for sawn timber.
On the other hand, the methodology will be based on that of the IPCC (the UN consultative body of experts on the Kyoto Protocol) that accounts the effect of carbon storage, which is highly positive for wood.
In its proposal, the European Commission provides for the need for Member States to develop plans to improve the productivity of forests.
The document also states that this initiative can contribute not only to production but also to recycling wood products, by replacing materials that have more of an impact on the environment in terms of emissions into the atmosphere, especially those that come from fossil fuels such as oil.
The initiative underlines the fact that carbon is stored in woodland and wood products, or by-products and recycled products (especially those used in infrastructures and homes), where the C02 captured by the tree in the form of carbon is retained for decades.
Although the useful life of disposable wood crates, packaging and pallets is shorter, when they are recycled they are incorporated into some of the aforementioned products, an example being chipboard.