Forest bioeconomy is an essential part of mitigating and adapting to climate change

The biggest cause of climate change is the use of fossil raw materials. According to a new book “Forest Bioeconomy and Climate Change”, the use of fossil raw materials cannot be eliminated without replacement also by forest bioeconomy products. The role of the forest sector in mitigating and adapting to climate change is important and diverse. However, making full use of the forest bioeconomy in mitigating and adapting to climate change requires climate-smart forestry tailored to local conditions.

“Isn’t it surprising that dead forests – for coal results from the decomposition of forests – should annually supply a larger volume of raw material than live forests?” said forest visionary Egon Glesinger already in 1949. This is still true today, as world coal production is about double that of wood production. A new book “Forest Bioeconomy and Climate Change” considers how this situation can be changed in a sustainable way. The book, which will be published by Springer (open access) later this year, is the first science-based book on the subject. The book’s pre-published manuscript is now freely available at ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358769825_Forest_Bioeconomy_and_Climate_Change

In the book, 28 European researchers look at the role of the forest bioeconomy in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The book is based on the FORBIO project (2015–2021) funded by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland, coordinated by the University of Eastern Finland and partnered by the European Forest Institute, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Natural Resources Institute Finland and the Finnish Environment Institute.

Read more in a blog post here.

Full reference
Hetemäki, L., Kangas, J. & Peltola, H. (eds.) 2022. Forest Bioeconomy and Climate Change. Managing Forest Ecosystems vol. 42. Springer. ISSN: 2352-3956 (electronic), 1568-1319 (print), ISBN: 978-3-030-99205-7 (hard-cover).  

More information:
Lauri Hetemäki, Professor of Practice, University of Helsinki and Senior Researcher, European Forest Institute. 050 3777 692 / lauri.a.hetemaki@helsinki.fi

Jyrki Kangas, Professor, University of Eastern Finland. 050 344 9888 / jyrki.kangas@uef.fi

Heli Peltola, Professor, University of Eastern Finland. 040 588 0005 / heli.peltola@uef.fi

_{Photo: Alexander Potapov/AdobeStock}