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CARBON CAPTURE OPPORTUNITIES AND EUDR ISSUES
A new EU emissions target could hold big potential for the timber industry, but the EUDR and timber supply issues throw up signifi cant challenges, writes European Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois) director of public affairs Paul Brannen
What may prove to be the best piece of news in 2025 for the European timber industry is an imminent legislative proposal from the European Commission that will recommend reducing the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 relative to 1990. The EU Parliament may amend this fi gure – up or down – however, almost certainly there will be a new intermediate target, a target that can only be achieved with a continued reduction in the burning of fossil fuel and a big increase in removals.
When it comes to removals the focus has been on carbon capture and storage – a technique essentially unproven at scale, and expensive. This is timber’s big opportunity as carbon stored in wood products is a tried, tested and affordable carbon storage solution that can be scaled up quickly.
A report by architects dRMM – Measuring Mass Timber – has for the fi rst time cited a fi gure for the average amount of carbon stored in a mass timber build – slightly over 1,000tCO2
can each store at least 4tCO2
e. We know timber framed family homes e. Add in carbon stored
in nature-based insulation, such as wood fi bre, and a signifi cant total fi gure for Europe’s collective potential to store carbon in the built environment emerges. Additional good news is that the EU’s Carbon Removals Certifi cation Framework is now law. It recognises that bio-based construction products offer signifi cant potential for long-lasting CO2
storage.
Furthermore, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive on EU member states to introduce mandatory reporting of whole life carbon for new buildings by 2028. France, Finland and Denmark are ahead but we should expect a wave of new national regulations to come in the
next few years, fi nally placing much greater emphasis on lowering embodied carbon emissions. Bad news, however, comes in the form of the EU Deforestation Regulation. The backlash to this regulation, from a vast range of actors, including primary producers, manufacturers and traders who supply food as well as timber, has led to the legislation being delayed until December 2025.
The really bad news is growing unease around longer term timber supply exacerbated by climate change and the resulting increase in incidence of fi re and pest infestation. Adding to pressure is land-use biodiversity legislation and a growing number of new players in the bioeconomy looking for woody feedstock. According to the Institute of Forest Ecosystems at the Hamburg Thünen Institute there will be a halving of the current European spruce stocks by 2050 to only 500 million m3. In this scenario, only 25 million m3 of spruce/ fi r logs would be available on the market each year, instead of the usual 50 million m3 a year. So, as you can now see the glass is both half full and half empty. ■
The really bad news is growing unease
around longer term timber supply exacerbated by climate change and the resulting increase in incidence of fire and pest infestation. Adding to pressure is land-use biodiversity legislation
www.ttjonline.com | March/April 2025 | TTJ
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