In terms of the environment, the climate change agenda provides a major opportunity to enhance the contribution of woodlands to the development of a low carbon economy, energy security and the environment.

Trees absorb substantial amounts of carbon, and the wood products that come from forests help store carbon and so help reduce the impact of climate change. Forestry is a unique industry: the more economic activity, the greater the environmental benefit.

Forests are unique in having this double benefit - in contrast with other land uses or alternative industrial products. Compared to agriculture, for example, trees require minimal amounts of energy and nutrients to grow - rainfall and sunlight being the main requirements. Compared to most alternative materials, timber contains low embodied energy and offers low carbon solutions for a wide range of needs.

If we are to deal with climate change we will need to use all avenues open to us. It is clear that a new wave of planting of 10,000 ha per annum of productive forest and woodland creation would help a great deal through increased carbon sequestration. In Scotland Co2 removal by forests currently accounts for 12% of greenhouse gas emissions. Such an improved rate of planting could see this rise substantially. In addition, this level of planting could help lock up twice as much carbon in wood-based materials - equivalent to 70Mt Co2 in Scotland alone.

In the first national assessment of the potential of the UK's forests to mitigate climate change, Professor Sir David Read* said:

• Woodland creation has the potential to provide highly cost-effective and achievable abatement of greenhouse gas emissions compared with potential options in other sectors
  
  
• Carbon storage in UK forests has been declining as a result of new-planting rates falling and younger forests, which sequester more carbon than older forests, maturing. Stepping up the new woodland planting rate would help to reverse this decline.
• If the market for wood construction products continues to grow at its current rate over the next 10 years, there is the potential to store an estimated additional 10 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon (equivalent to 36.7 Mt Co2) in new and refurbished homes by 2019.

• Within the next 5 years, sustainably produced woodfuel has the potential to save the equivalent of approximately seven million tonnes of Co2 emissions per year by replacing fossil fuels. The report says the use of biomass for heating provides one of the most cost-effective and environmentally acceptable ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

* www.sheffield.ac.uk/aps/staff/acadstaff/read.html