THE CASCADED USE OF HARVESTED WOOD PRODUCTS COMPARED WITH THE USE OF WOOD FOR ENERGY - A GHG INVENTORY ON AVAILABLE FOREST RESOURCES IN CANADA

Some Parties (Countries) to the UNFCCC decided to include the carbon uptake by harvested wood products (HWP) in a new general accounting framework after 2012 (post Kyoto). We combine the new HWP framework with an assumed increased 5 0 million m(3) harvest level in Canada and evaluate the impact of the GHG emissions over a 100 year period. Our reference case assumes all harvested wood is an immediate CO2 emission (IPCC default) and no substitution effects, i.e. annual GHG emissions of 41 million tonnes CO2eq. In our wood utilisation scenarios, harvested trees are allocated to three end-products: construction wood, paper products and pellets for power production. In comparison with our base case, a combination of fossil fuel substitution, material substitution and temporary carbon uptake by HWP leads to significant decreases in GHG emissions. A similar approach is intended for future EU-28 harvesting.