The EuroForest Portal news service covers items of direct interest to the forest and forest products sector, and also items of more general environmental interest. The geographic scope for news items is generally the European (or sub-region of Europe) level, but items of global, national and sub-national interest may also be noticed. In general, announcements of events are not noticed (exceptions are made for events of international importance). GFIS - Global Forest Information Service. GFIS is a collaborative initiative that allows sharing of forest-related information through a single gateway. The information resources accessible through GFIS are freely available, and provide direct access to the original information. EFI press releases - News items about European forest research related issues and about EFI activities. EFI events calendar - Information on upcoming and past events of EFI and other organisations, and links to other forest-related event calendars.
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European Commission's new climate & energy targets for 2030 |
Feb 13, 2014 |
The European Commission presented the 2030 policy framework for climate and energy on 22 January 2014. It aims to make the European Union's economy and energy system more competitive, secure and sustainable and proposes to: - Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% - Increase the share of renewable energy to at least 27% - Make continued improvements in energy efficiency - Reform the EU emissions trading system - Establish a set of key indicators to assess progress and obtain a competitive, affordable and secure energy - Establish a new governance system
The framework includes a report on energy prices and costs which assesses the key drivers and compares EU prices with those of its main trading partners.
The 2030 policy framework for climate and energy seeks to drive continued progress towards a low-carbon economy. It aims to build a competitive and secure energy system that ensures affordable energy for all consumers, increases the security of the EU's energy supplies, reduces our dependence on energy imports and creates new opportunities for growth and jobs.
As next steps, the Commission invites the Council and the European Parliament to endorse its approach and the EU-level greenhouse gas and renewables targets. The European Council is expected to consider the framework at its spring meeting on 20-21 March 2014.
Relevant documentation
More information on the official website of the Directorate-General Climate Action of the European Commission |
Agreste publishes “GraphAgriBois 2013” |
Feb 11, 2014 |
"GraphAgriBois 2013" is a detailed portrait of the French forest and wood industries. The report includes 150 pages of tables, graphs and maps. It provides a comprehensive overview of the forest and wood industries in 2013. The book is the result of a collaboration of twenty experts from different ministries and professional organisations.
GraphAgriBois is available at “Agreste, the agricultural statistics website” of the Department of Statistics and Foresight of the French Ministry of Agriculture, Agrofood and Forestry. The chapters and two synthesis can be downloaded here (in French only): http://agreste.agriculture.gouv.fr/publications/graphagri/article/graph-agri-bois |
Forest Products Annual Market Review 2012-2013 |
Jan 28, 2014 |
 The Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2012-2013 offers a comprehensive analysis of markets across the UNECE region, including North America, Europe, the Russian Federation and the Central Asian republics, as well as market influences from outside the UNECE region. It covers the range of products from the forest to the final end-user: from roundwood and primary processed products to value-added and innovative wood products.
The publication is available for download here . UNECE news items here and here. |
2013 FAO survey of world pulp and paper capacities online |
Jan 21, 2014 |
The survey released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations presents statistics on pulp and paper capacity and production by country and by grade.
The document is based on information submitted by correspondents worldwide, most of them pulp and paper associations or, in their absence, paper companies.
The survey presents only the results for the 37 countries that submitted answers to the questionnaires, which represent about 90 percent of the world production of paper and paperboard. No attempts have been made to estimate figures in the absence of returned information.
The survey can be downloaded here . |
Outputs of the Resumed INC-Forests4: final agreement was not reached |
Nov 11, 2013 |
Resumed Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for a Legally-Binding Agreement (LBA) on Forests in Europe was unable to produce breakthroughs on the bracketed articles of the draft convention text, the draft decision to be sent to the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference, which will review the results of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, and arrangements on institutional matters.
The unfinished convention text and draft decision were forwarded to the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference to be held at a date to be determined, for consideration and appropriate action.
The Resumed Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Legally Binding Agreement on Forests in Europe (INC-Forests4) convened from 7-8 November 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland.
IISD resumed INC-Forests4 summary report IISD resumed INC-Forests4 news
INC website EFI’s Deputy Director Marc Palahí personal view on resumed INC-Forests4 |
Latest COFFI Market Forecast out |
Oct 31, 2013 |
Following the annual Market Discussions of the Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI - former Timber Committee) about the current and next year's forest products markets, the Committee issues a statement which includes: overview of the forest products sector, developments in specific forest product market sectors, sawn softwood and sawn hardwood, wood-based panels, wood raw materials including wood energy, pulp and paper, certified forest products and tables summarizing forecasts in Europe, North America and Russia. The Committee also collects data on over 30 individual products for most countries in the UNECE region.
The statement can be read here . The market forecast tables can be downloaded here . |
NGOs reject proposed text of the legally binding agreement on forests |
Jun 19, 2013 |
A press release from a broad coalition of European NGOs has strongly criticised the text for a Pan-European Forest Convention discussed last week by European Government Representatives. Members of the 30-strong coalition, such as FERN, Friends of the Earth Europe, Bird Life Europe, Greenpeace, ClientEarth and the German Nature Conservation League, believe the draft text is biased towards wood production without improving the overall state of forest ecosystems in Europe. They claim the text is too general to be meaningful, and too restrictive with regard to public participation. FERN press release |
Jun 18, 2013 |
The Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Legally-Binding Agreement on Forests in Europe (INC-Forests4) made substantial progress in revising the draft negotiating text of a forest convention, but decided to suspend work until autumn because it had run out of time to conclude a few key issues in the text, reach consensus on institutional issues and prepare the interim arrangements for the convention. INC-Forests4 was held 10-14 June 2013 in Warsaw, Poland. The five-day session was attended by 140 participants, including delegates from 33 governments and the European Union (EU), and observers from the government of Japan and 19 regional and international organizations, producer associations and non-governmental organizations. INC-Forests4 will be reconvened on a date and at a place to be announced, in order to complete key tasks before sending the results of INC-Forests to the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference. IISD INC-4 summary report IISD INC-4 news INC-Forests4 website |
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