INTRODUCTION
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) appreciates the
opportunity to express its views on the role of carbon sequestration and its
capacity to offset greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from
transportation, industrial and other manufacturing activities. We support the efforts of the subcommittee
to examine the carbon life cycle of natural resource management activities that
can provide significant contributions to the nation’s voluntary efforts to
mitigate greenhouse gases (GHGs).
AF&PA is the national
trade association of the forest and paper industry and represents more than 240
member companies and related associations that engage in or represent the
manufacturers of pulp, paper, paperboard and wood products. America’s forest and paper industry ranges
from state-of-the-art paper mills to small, family-owned sawmills and some 9
million individual woodlot owners. AF&PA is participating in the Administration’s Climate VISION
program, and its members have collectively committed to actions that they
expect will reduce their greenhouse gas intensity by 12 percent by 2012.
AF&PA has been engaged in
the issue on the role of forests and global climate for more than a
decade. We have sponsored technical
research through the technical research arm of the industry, supported efforts
of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and cooperated with many agencies on programs
to improve the understanding of forests and their role in mitigating carbon
dioxide buildup. In at least one
important respect, the forest products industry is unique among
industries. The natural resource that
we grow and use as raw material, and the products we subsequently manufacture,
all play a role in sequestration of atmospheric carbon.
CARBON SEQUESTRATION
The world’s 3.5 billion
hectares of growing closed-canopy forests sequester and store many billions of
tons of carbon above and below the ground.
Known as “carbon sequestration,” this process begins when growing trees
uptake carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and emit oxygen. Managed forests, productivity improvements,
and the creation of new forests around the world are increasing the amount of
CO2 being removed from the atmosphere.
According to a study conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, managed
forests currently remove 300 million metric tons of carbon each year –
equivalent to about 17 percent of total annual U.S. greenhouse emissions. This is equivalent to removing the carbon
dioxide emissions from 235 million automobiles on the road per year. Furthermore,
when trees are
harvested, and converted to products – such as those used in buildings, houses,
and furniture – they continue to store carbon for many decades or longer.
FOREST CARBON SEQUESTRATION
Forests provide enormous
benefits. Only recently has carbon dioxide removal by forests been recognized
as a major co-benefit to the environment in addition to wildlife habitat, water
quality, recreation, aesthetics and other resource amenities. As Congress proceeds to create forest carbon
sequestration economic and environmental opportunities, the AF&PA
membership believes that forest management must be a driving force in improving
forestland health and productivity.
Incentives that encourage forest stewardship, improve land management
practices and prevent the further conversion of forestland to other uses will provide
multiple benefits including carbon storage
Numerous scientific and
technical studies have been conducted to demonstrate that active and
sustainable forest management sequesters and stores more carbon than preserving
a forest forever or extending a rotation beyond its biologic maturity. The most comprehensive and clearly
articulated explanation of the role that forests play in the global climate
issue is contained in the report: Forests and Global Change and published by
American Forests in 1992. Authored by
forestry experts from universities, the U.S. Forest Service and other
researchers, the two-volume set contains numerous examples of how active forest
management sequesters and stores more carbon than unmanaged and longer-rotation
stands.
A simple comparison of total
carbon storage among two Douglas-fir management prescriptions provides a clear
and convincing picture of how active management increases carbon sequestration.
The two management prescriptions are no management and active management over a
100-year rotation. Because the active
management prescription undertakes thinnings in years 30, 40, and 50, increased
growth results on the residual stand due to stand improvements, reduced
competition, and increased sunlight that enhances growth. In addition, the trees and the carbon embedded
in the harvested material are used for wood products, displace fossil fuels, and
can be recycled. As a result of active
management over a 100-year rotation, total carbon accumulation is 20 percent
more than the unmanaged stand, and this does not account for the biomass fuel
and wood products derived from management actions taken in the interim years. This result demonstrates that actively
managed forest stands provide greater carbon benefits than unmanaged
forests. And because managed forests
remove dead, dying and decayed material, it lowers fire risk and the subsequent
release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from uncontrolled wildfires
caused by the build-up of fuels from un-thinned stands.
The forest products industry
believes that this is an extremely important point for the subcommittee and the Senate to consider as
domestic and international policies are developed to determine what
opportunities forests will have in reducing atmospheric concentrations of
carbon dioxide.
PRODUCT CARBON SEQUESTRATION
In addition to managing
forests that sequester carbon, the industry also produces products that make an
important contribution to carbon sequestration. Harvesting and manufacturing of forest products essentially
transfers carbon from one carbon pool – the forests – to another carbon pool –
the product pool. The carbon contained
in these products continues to be sequestered from the atmosphere.
In some cases – such as
building materials – products remain in use for very long periods of time. Recycling also affects the length of time
carbon is stored in products, as the higher the percent of product that is
recycled into new product, the longer the carbon remains in use. Additionally, many products that are
discarded continue to store carbon in landfills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that on an
annual basis harvested wood products, including those products currently in use
and in landfills, represent almost 30 percent of net sequestration from U.S.
forests.[1]
Moreover, as world-wide
demand for forest products increases, the amount of carbon stored in the
products pool increases, thus offsetting global greenhouse gas emissions. Using Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) statistics, it has been estimated that the harvested
wood products produced by the global forest products industry in 1990 contained
346 million metric tons of carbon.[2] More importantly, the analysis indicated
that the stocks of sequestered carbon in products in use and in landfills were
increasing at a rate of 139 million metric tons of carbon per year. This annual increase in carbon sequestered
in products – which is equivalent to removing over 100 million cars from the
road annually – also represents an equivalent net removal of carbon from the
atmosphere that is substantially more than the annual direct greenhouse gas
emissions from the global forest products industry.
The scientific validity that carbon is stored for long
periods of time is well documented.
Extensive research has been conducted and published not only by the U.S.
Forest Service but also other natural resource agencies in Europe, New Zealand,
and Japan. The U.S. Forest Service work
is acknowledged and cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of Energy, and the U.S. State Department repeatedly. Additional support comes from the October
2000 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report with a section discussing opportunities
offered by forest products as a recyclable store of carbon and a renewable
source of fibers for the mitigation of climate change.
A PATH FORWARD
AF&PA has several
recommendations regarding carbon sequestration in forests and harvested wood
products as well as voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG).
First, there must be clear
recognition of the fact that forest and product sequestration removes carbon
from the atmosphere and thus mitigates greenhouse gas emissions.
Second, understanding the
existing forest base can shed important light on how to improve existing forest
management practices for the retention of carbon and what opportunities exist
to enhance the existing forest land base to store more carbon. AF&PA suggests increasing funding levels
to the Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) Program contained within the U.S.
Forest Service (USFS) Research program as specified in USFS/National
Association of State Foresters Memorandum of Agreement and endorsed by the
Second Blue Ribbon Panel on FIA. This
data collection and analysis program, recently amended in the 1998 Farm bill by
Congress, called for annual data collection with a completed cycle in each
state every five years. We strongly
support this effort. It provides the
underlying data not only for carbon sequestration but also provides the core
information on forest resource trends.
Third, development of a national
accounting system is critically important.
Presently, the USFS provides estimates of carbon sequestration on all
managed forestlands in the United States, including public and private. These estimates are based on forest
inventory data collected through the FIA Program. Carbon projections are estimated by using a combination of
sophisticated timber supply, area projection, wood use and carbon content
models. These estimates must provide a
reliable prediction of current and future carbon sequestration in the forest
strata including soils, understory, overstory, and trees. These models also
form the basis for estimating the long-term storage of carbon in wood and paper
products and in landfills. Such information
is an important component in correctly assessing the U.S. carbon cycle and is
necessary for assessing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.
Fourth, the committee should
seriously consider how the forests of today can be more actively managed to
increase carbon sequestration and prevent emissions through improved
productivity. To this end, we would
urge the subcommittee to recommend increased funding for forest productivity
research in tree physiology, biotechnology and soil productivity as outlined in
a compact with the Department of Energy in the Agenda 2020 industry partnership
program.
Fifth, the committee should find
ways to encourage cogeneration with the goal of extracting maximum usable
energy from biomass, waste and fossil fuels and the development of productive
uses for the non-combustible products. Biomass and Black Liquor Gasification
technologies should also be commercialized to allow improvement in efficiency
and displacement of fossil fuels.
Finally, we believe the
committee should support funding of global, long-term, technology based efforts
that allow for continued economic growth.
CONCLUSION
AF&PA and its member
companies want to continue to work with the subcommittee on forest and product sequestration
issues. Again, we appreciate the
opportunity to present our views.
[1] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Policy. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2000. EPA 430-R-02-003, April.
[2] Winjum, J.K., S. Brown, B. Schlamadinger. 1998. “Forest Harvests and Wood Products; Sources and Sinks of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide,” Forest Science, Vol. 44, No. 2, May 1998, pp 272-284.