Expert talk on forest carbon policy
10 October 2024
Creating a sustainable bioeconomy based on forest resources is a challenging task for policy makers. The challenge includes a lack of consensus on climate effects of forest bioenergy, the task of promoting wood cascading and the need to balance the demands for forest carbon from both the bioeconomy and climate policies.
A “forest carbon policy” is a market-based policy approach that aims at an efficient allocation of wood resources. It includes a price for carbon emissions from wood and a subsidy for carbon storage or sinks. The workshop is intended to share knowledge on how such a policy could be implemented, its related opportunities and limitations as well its potential contributions to a sustainable use of forest biomass in the bioeconomy.
| Session |
10:00 | Welcome, introduction of participants Prof. Dr. Daniela Thrän, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) |
10:20 | Dr. Harry Schindler, DBFZ |
10:40 | Discussion |
11:00 | Climate policy for forest carbon: options for implementation Prof. Dr. Jussi Lintunen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) |
11:20 | Discussion |
11:40 | Challenges and open questions for implementing a forest carbon policy Prof. Dr. Peter Elsasser, Thünen Institute of Forestry (TI) |
12:00 | Discussion |
12:20 | Lunch Break |
13:00 | Innovative remote sensing approaches to monitor forest carbon Felipe Coelho Costa, Global Risk Assessment Services (GRAS) |
14:00 | Discussion |
13:20 | Coffee break |
13:40 | Current approaches to sustainability assessment of forest bioenergy Prof. Dr. Hubert Röder, University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (HSWT) |
14:00 | Discussion |
14:20 | Wrap up Dr. Volker Lenz, German Biomass Research Center (DBFZ) |
14:45 | End |
Workshop: When is forest bioenergy sustainable?
24 January 2024
Whether and when forest bioenergy is sustainable has long been a controversial issue. At the online event ‘Sustainable wood energy’, the central contents of a current DBFZ discussion paper on this question were presented. Other representatives from the scientific community then had their say, shedding light on selected aspects of the topic in short 10-minute presentations. The event was supplemented by assessments from associations.
Time | Session |
11:00 | Welcome and introduction Jasmin Kalcher | Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum (DBFZ) |
11:05 | Sustainability of wood energy: Presentation of the DBFZ discussion paper Dr. Volker Lenz, Dr. Harry Schindler | Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum (DBFZ) |
11:25 | Sustainability in the context of the forestry and timber industry Dr. Jörg Schweinle | Thünen Institut für Waldwirtschaft |
11:35 | What contributions can forests and wood products make to climate protection in the future? Dr. Bernhard Wolfslehner | European Forest Institute (EFI) |
11:4 | Questions from the participants |
12:05 | Biomass pricing in an international context Leon Merfort | Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) |
12:15 | View of the associations: Fachverband Holzenergie (FVH) / Bundesverband Bioenergie e.V. (BBE) Gerolf Bücheler |
| 12:25 | View of the organisations: Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union Germany (NABU e.V.) Michaela Kruse |
| 12:35 | Questions from the participants |
13:00 | End of the event |
DBFZ Discussion paper "Sustainability of wood energy"
November 2023
When is wood energy sustainable and how can it best contribute to climate protection? The discussion paper shows how complex sustainability requirements can be translated into concrete decision criteria and options for policy action. It also analyses the causes of the overexploitation of wood resources and presents political instruments for securing sustainable wood energy. The role of a CO2 price in the context of wood is explained and a possible future for wood energy in the context of a climate-neutral economy is outlined.
