Spanish forest certification system submitted for endorsement

Established by APRIL Group in 2013, RER is an ecosystem restoration programme that works to protect and restore ecologically important peatland forest within Indonesia’s Riau Province. Located on Sumatra’s eastern coastline, RER is comprised from five government ecosystem restoration licenses totalling 150,000 hectares of peatland forest, with 130,000 hectares located on the Kampar Peninsula and an additional 20,000 ha located on nearby Padang Island. The restoration area at Kampar Peninsula is twice the size of Singapore. Another notable highlight was the discovery of the restoration area’s 300th bird species. Known as the Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta Mollucensis), it joins several IUCN-listed endangered or rare species, and now means that representatives of 18 per cent of Indonesia’s bird species have found safe haven inside RER. Click Read More below for additional information.

Norske Skog has expanded its partnership with Ocean GeoLoop to support development, testing and commercialisation of their highly promising Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation (CCS/CCU) technologies. Through this partnership, Norske Skog aims to pursue the opportunity to become CO2 net negative, and to explore economically viable models for utilisation of biogenic CO2. “The green shift has been a key priority at Norske Skog for several years. In Norway in 2020, our fossil CO2 emissions were just above 15,000 tonnes out of Norway’s total of approximately 50 million tonnes. The reduction of fossil CO2 emissions has with significant success been incentivised by Governments and international organisations, but limited attention has been given to biogenic CO2 emissions. As Norske Skog is approaching zero fossil CO2 emissions in Norway, we will start to explore economically viable opportunities for utilisation of biogenic CO2.

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman has issued the following statement regarding the letter sent today to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency from 154 members of the U.S. House of Representatives supporting biomass as a sustainable energy source. “The paper and wood products manufacturing industry is the largest producer and user of bioenergy of any U.S. industrial sector. Our industry’s use of biomass residuals and commitments to forest planting and regrowth help to ensure that the nation’s forest stocks are stable and rising. The natural carbon cycle should be recognized in EPA policies. “This letter from House members joins support from Senators, scientists and agencies around the world in recognizing the carbon neutrality of biomass energy. AF&PA thanks Representatives Ribble, Bishop, Poliquin, Schrader, Harper and Graham for their leadership.”