Opportunities for Growth

Many of the greenhouse gas reduction strategies related to forests and wood products also provide opportunities for improved competitiveness, innovation and growth within the British Columbia forest sector.

The industry will continue to lead with sustainable forest management and climate-friendly products and by expanding its production and use of bio-energy.

For example:

Intensive forest management — By implementing forest management policies that maximize the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorbed from the atmosphere, BC will increasingly be viewed as a leader, not only in forest sustainability, but in climate change mitigation.
Wood use — Increasing wood use (by substituting wood-frame construction for buildings typically framed in steel and concrete, for example), will increase demand for products that come from sustainably managed forests. It will also allow the BC industry to showcase the diversity of its products and sophistication of its manufacturing processes.
Bio-energy — Rising demand for clean, renewable fuels will provide increased opportunities for the use of biomass from forestry and mill processing, as well as forests devastated by the Mountain Pine Beetle.
Research and development — The BC forest industry has a long history of partnerships with leading research organizations that strive to continually develop innovative new techniques and technologies in areas such as forestry, product manufacturing, environmental protection and the production of renewable energy. The urgency of climate change creates new opportunities for innovation and for the industry to share its knowledge and technologies with others seeking to follow our example.

Increased Use of Wood

Wood products are a natural choice in the fight against climate change for the many reasons described on this website. It therefore makes sense that, as more people accept the urgency of climate change and seek to do their part, they will increasingly choose wood over more energy-intensive materials.

Wood products help to address climate change because they're renewable and recyclable, have a lighter environmental footprint than alternatives, and continue to store much of the carbon absorbed by growing forests.

This will enhance demand for the many quality products already made in British Columbia. But wood may also be used in a wider range of applications, creating significant opportunities for innovation and growth.

Mid-rise residential and non-residential construction are two notable examples. While many architects and engineers have habitually turned to steel and concrete for buildings over two or three stories, there is no reason-identified in building codes or elsewhere-that this should be the case. The forest industry is working hard, via its WoodWORKS! program, not only to educate design and building professionals on the benefits of wood use in multi-family and non-residential buildings, but to support specific projects from design through construction.

Increased Use of Bio-energy

The British Columbia forest products industry is already a significant producer and user of renewable bio-energy. It is common for companies to have cogeneration facilities that utilize forestry and mill residues to produce steam and electricity. We're also a major producer of bio-energy in the form of wood pellets, most of which are exported.

Capital investments into the production and use of bio-energy have enabled the industry to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Both of these areas have considerable potential for growth-and will enable us to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2015 while strengthening our long-term competitiveness.

Having been one of the first industries to embrace bio-energy, the forest sector is working with leading research companies and others to develop innovative new technologies that increase its use of biomass and minimize the need for non-renewable energy sources.

There's also the opportunity to produce more wood pellets for domestic use, both from forestry and mill biomass and from the many forests devastated by the Mountain Pine Beetle. Made by compressing sawdust and shavings into eraser-sized pieces, wood pellets are a common source of fuel in Europe. They have yet to catch on in a big way in North America, but that is expected to change as society increasingly seeks to replace fossil fuels with alternatives that are better for the environment and cost less.

Bio-energy is an important part of BC's climate change strategy. We're already home to half the country's biomass electricity-generating capacity, and the provincial government has announced a goal of meeting at least 50 per cent of our renewable fuel requirements with bio-energy by 2020.

Intensive Forest Management

Intensive forest management isn't new. Silvicultural practices have long sought to achieve objectives such as improved wood quality and faster regeneration of harvested stands. These practices have helped to maintain timber yields in managed forests, while Canada as a whole set aside more parks and protected areas than any other country in the world. Now, they're also helping to address climate change-because a forest that grows more quickly and is promptly regenerated also absorbs more CO₂.

Forests can be managed for maximum CO₂ absorption.

Activities such as selected seed stock, site preparation, fertilization, spacing and thinning can all be used to increase forest yields. However, the industry and its research partners are also investing in new techniques, both at the seed and forest level, that will help Canada's vast forest resource to sequester the greatest possible amount of carbon.

Intensive forest management provides an opportunity, not only to offset Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, but to share knowledge and technology with other countries for our common good, and create jobs. It will also position us favorably in any carbon trading system.

It's also worth noting that, in addition to intensive management, "active" management is an important part of the climate change equation. Active management involves thinning the forest, removing dead trees and clearing debris at various points in its development. It helps to reduce the number and intensity of wildfires and protects against the spread of insects, both of which result in significant CO₂ emissions.

Research and Development

The British Columbia forest industry has a long history of partnerships with leading research organizations, which have helped it to evolve into a high-tech sector whose forestry practices, manufacturing processes and facilities, make it a preferred global supplier of forest products.

Among other things, innovative technologies have enabled the industry to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions to 62 percent below 1990 levels-through improved processes as well as the production of green energy from forestry and mill residues that were once considered waste-and to utilize much of that energy to generate the steam and electricity required to produce a vast array of products.

Already, the BC forest sector generates more than 4,000 Gigawatt hours per year of green, renewable energy to power its facilities, making it the province's biggest producer of energy after BC Hydro, and there are significant opportunities for growth in this area.

In the climate change context, the industry is also investing in research that will enable us to maximize the amount of CO₂ absorbed by BC forests and to determine how forest management practices can be modified to help the forest adapt to changing temperatures.

Carbon Trading

Carbon emissions management is becoming big business and British Columbia is working to position itself as a leader through, among other things, regulatory change, financial support for carbon programs and the integration of these programs into resource and government planning.

For example, as part of its strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the BC government is proposing to develop a carbon trading system, known as "cap and trade."

A cap and trade system sets limits on how much carbon dioxide (CO₂) companies are permitted to release. (Other greenhouse gases are measured in terms of CO₂ equivalent.) Companies can exceed their limits if they purchase credits or carbon offsets, which in turn provide financial rewards to those firms whose emissions are lower than allowed.

Many cap and trade scenarios provide an opportunity for the forest industry to contribute by including carbon credits for forest growth (over and above a benchmark amount) and the use of biomass as energy.

Similar to the European model, British Columbia's proposed system is essentially a "free market" exchange, whereby credits can be sold at market value. However, this is just one of many options, and it is yet to be determined whether a national strategy will prevail-or the degree to which forest-related credits will be incorporated.

One important question remains, and that is who will administer Canada's carbon trading market. As it currently stands, there are numerous voluntary trading systems in place. The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), launched in 2003, is the world's first and North America's only active voluntary, legally binding integrated trading system to reduce emissions of all six major greenhouse gases, with offset projects worldwide. The Montreal Exchange, which is affiliated with the Chicago Climate Exchange, launched a futures market for Canadian carbon dioxide emissions on May 30, 2008, subject to regulatory approval, and the Western Climate Initiative, which includes British Columbia as well as several other jurisdictions, is working to develop a regional trading market.