The objective of this project is to discuss the role of forests in Nordic countries in climate change mitigation and discuss the possible roles of forests as a part of a cost-effective climate policy. The report aims to provide a comprehensive and easily digestible way to better understand the issue.The report includes a discussion on the role of forests for enhancing carbon stocks and carbon sinks in the Nordic countries. The extent of above - and below - ground biomass and their role as forests carbon sinks in Nordic forests is analysed. The use of wood in products, buildings and as bioenergy is examined. Finally the report presents emissions trading schemes from around the globe that allow offsets and credits from forest projects on them and provides an analysis on the feasibility of such a scheme for the Nordic region. The report has been commissioned by the Working Group on Environment and Economics under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The study was carried out by Indufor.

Abstract: The objective of this project is to discuss the role of forests in Nordic countries in climate change mitigation and discuss the possible roles of forests as a part of a cost-effective climate policy. The report aims to provide a comprehensive and easily digestible way to better understand the issue. The report includes a discussion on the role of forests for enhancing carbon stocks and carbon sinks in the Nordic countries. The extent of above- and below-ground biomass and their role as forests carbon sinks in Nordic forests is analysed. The use of wood in products, buildings and as bioenergy is examined. Finally the report presents emissions trading schemes from around the globe that allow offsets and credits from forest projects on them and provides an analysis on the feasibility of such a scheme for the Nordic region. The report has been commissioned by the Working Group on Environment and Economics under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The study was carried out by Indufor

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-510/ We are facing two global environmental crises, the loss of biodiversity and climate change. Both crises should be handled within the forthcoming decades. Actions implemented to mitigate one challenge should not worsen the other. The two crises are interlinked. Biodiversity, together with geophysical and climatic factors form and maintain ecosystems, which contribute to climate change mitigation by capturing CO2 and store carbon. But the current climate change worsen the negative impact of the main drivers causing biodiversity loss. This leads to further degradation of ecosystems, which in turn may weaken the functionality of ecosystems that reduce the ability of nature to capture and store carbon. The project identified eight cases related to nature-based solutions enacted in the Nordic countries and identifies synergies between biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.

Diverse as they are in their histories and in the organization of their forest sectors, most Nordic countries have this in common: their economies and cultures are substantially based on the utilization of various forest resources. This book explores Nordic forest futures and presents research results that form part of a scientific foundation for considering how to balance the functions of forests. It is particularly concerned with global trends that may affect the future use of boreal forests. Chapters investigate inter-alia the growing world population and the expected economic growth in countries with huge populations, and assess the resulting pressure on all land-based resources. Authors examine the urgent need for solutions to the energy crisis, consider worrying climate scenarios and provide a global outlook on bioenergy futures. Readers will discover how these developments will and must influence long-term strategic decisions on the future use of Nordic forests. The challenges and possible responses for future forest governance and forestry issues emerge, as the chapters go on to consider the multiple pressures in particular on the Swedish Forestry Model, among other themes. “By bringing together a distinguished group of internationally renowned scientists representing a diverse set of disciplines covering political science, geography, rural development, forest economics, history, and geo-sciences, this book constitutes an exceptionally profound and thoughtful futures study.” – Alexander Buck, Executive Director, International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO)

Forests and any other trees outside the forest play a relevant role all three great UN conventions on Climate Change, on Biodiversity, and on Combating Desertification. The policy processes to implement the measures in these conventions on sub-national, national, regional and international level are extremely complex. And that complexity comes, among other factors, from a blend of different sectoral and national interests, from a large number of scientifically not yet entirely resolved issues and a wide range of different biophysical, social, cultural and political conditions all over the world. The 3rd International DAAD Workshop on “Forests in Climate Change Research and Policy: The Role of Forest Management and Conservation in a Complex International Setting” held in Dubai and Doha along the conference of the parties (COP18) from 28st November to 2nd December had a strong focus on the role of forests and their management in context of international conventions and recent international and national policy. The volume contains 20 papers that are grouped under the topics The Role of Forests and their Management under Climate Change, International Policy Processes, Technical Issues on Remote Sensing, and Country Cases on Forest Management under Climate Change.

For thousands of years, forest biomass or wood has been among the main energy sources of humans around the world. Since the industrial revolution, fossil fuels have replaced wood and become the dominant source of energy. The use of fossil fuels has the disadvantage of increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs), especially carbon dioxide (CO2), with the consequent warming of global climate and changes in precipitation. In this context, the substitution of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources like forest biomass is among the ways to mitigate climate change. This book summarizes recent experiences on how to manage forest land to produce woody biomass for energy use and what are the potentials to mitigate climate change by substituting fossil fuels in energy production. In this context, the book addresses how management can affect the supply of energy biomass using short-rotation forestry and the conventional forestry applying long rotations. Furthermore, the book outlines the close interaction between the ecological systems and industrial systems, which controls the carbon cycle between the atmosphere and biosphere. In this context, sustainable forest management is a key to understand and control indirect carbon emissions due to the utilization of forest biomass (e.g. from management, harvesting and logistics, and ecosystem processes), which are often omitted in assessing the carbon neutrality of energy systems based on forest biomass. The focus in this book is on forests and forestry in the boreal and temperate zones, particularly in Northern Europe, where the woody biomass is widely used in the energy industry for producing energy.