Timber Industry Announces Plans at The Hague
American Lands
November 21, 2000
The international wood products industry from Europe, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, and the United States announced their plans today at the Hague to use provisions implementing the Kyoto Climate Protocol to promote more industrial logging, including plantations and potentially genetically modified trees.
The morning after the U.S. released a new proposal to count one-third of 'business-as-usual' forestry toward meeting the nations carbon sequestration goal, the logging industry held a news conference to urge that the rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol written at The Hague should "recognize the growing carbon sink in wood and paper products," promote biofuels, and encourage the "dynamic" management of forests.
"Paper and wood products play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle," the industry said in their press release, calling for the "extensive use of flexible mechanisms" to reach global carbon reduction goals.
When asked whether these "flexible mechanisms" could include the use of trees that are genetically modified (GM) to grow more quickly, a representative from the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association explained that GM trees are not yet commercialized, the industry is aware of environmental concerns, and would be very careful; in other words "yes."
A spokesman for the New Zealand Forest Industry Council responded to a question about whether proposals under consideration might encourage more plantation forestry by defending the role of plantations in promoting wildlife and biodiversity.
Clearly, the logging industry sees the inclusion of 'business-as-usual' forestry in the rules to be written at The Hague as an invitation to continue and accelerate the type of industrial logging that is already threatening the earth's forests. The U.S. must back off of the position that they announced yesterday at The Hague, renounce 'business-as-usual' forestry, and make a stronger commitment to reducing emissions if the industry's plans are to be blocked. Responsibly addressing global climate change should not lead to more plantations, more use of chemicals, and more business-as-usual' industrial logging. Instead, the U.S. should take the obvious step of supporting the protection and restoration of primary forests as the only type of forest activities that should be counted under the Kyoto protocol.
U.S. officials here at The Hague, have been telling us that they have been hearing from citizens concerned about forest protection. Now is the time to fax a letter and make a phone call supporting real carbon sequestration, real emissions reductions, and real forest protection.
Please call the Whitehouse comment line at 202/456-1414 and if time allows write a letter on your group's letterhead addressed to Secretary Loy expressing your concerns. Group letters should be faxed to Aaron Rappaport at 509/463-4602, they will be hand delivered to the U.S. delegation at The Hague.
Thanks for your help for climate and forest friendly rules at The Hague.
Steve Holmer
Campaign Coordinator
American Lands
726 7th Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
202/547-9105
202/547-9213 fax
mailto:wafcdc@americanlands.org
http://www.americanlands.org