{"id":78704,"date":"2020-01-30T11:08:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T11:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tin.happy-projects.ro\/climate-change-debate-threatens-european-hardwood-market\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T08:52:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T08:52:24","slug":"climate-change-debate-threatens-european-hardwood-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/climate-change-debate-threatens-european-hardwood-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate change debate threatens the European hardwood market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Headline figures for sawn hardwood consumption in Europe show that demand has been flat for the last decade. However, these figures obscure major underlying changes in the European market.<\/em><\/p>\n

This was clear from presentations and discussion during the International Hardwood Conference (IHC) in Berlin during November, an event co-organised by the European Organisation of Sawmill Industries (EOS), the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) and German Sawmill and Wood Industries Association (DeSH).<\/p>\n

There was a widespread view that new opportunities are emerging, particularly driven by strong political and emerging consumer interest in carbon mitigation and other environmental concerns. However, it also became apparent that other factors are undermining the ability of the hardwood sector to respond to these opportunities.<\/p>\n

The European hardwood market has become too narrowly focused on a single species, oak, and there has been insufficient focus on driving demand for and adding value to other species.<\/p>\n

Lack of investment in hardwood market development in Europe has contributed to a large proportion of logs being exported, particularly to China, a market which has lately become very volatile.<\/p>\n

Supply side problems are also arising as drought and pest infestations in Europe have led to large volumes of lowquality hardwood being placed on the market contributing to falling prices for low grade lumber and by-products such as chips, sawdust and bark.<\/p>\n

There is also uncertainty over long term supply security. Lack of consistent and harmonised inventory data across Europe, combined with resource changes due to climate change, have made projections of future supplies less reliable.<\/p>\n

In retrospect too, the almost exclusive focus on certification in environmental communication may have been a distraction from pressing environmental imperatives in the hardwood sector that are not addressed in existing certification frameworks.<\/p>\n

These imperatives include the need to:<\/p>\n