VAT should be reduced for wood-based products in recognition of their carbon storage capabilities, according to the president of the European Panel Federation.
Ladislaus Döry made his appeal following the International Conference on Carbon Storage in Wood Products in Brussels, at which leading scientists on wood products and climate change and the forest product industry called for recognition of harvested wood products in the forthcoming climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Mr Döry said European authorities should stimulate consumption of “Kyoto-friendly” products, such as timber, by rewarding consumers for renovating their homes and replacing old kitchens.
CEI-BOIS chairman Mikael Eliasson told the conference, attended by 100 people, that an annual 4% increase in Europe’s wood consumption would sequester an additional 150 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
As a follow-up to the conference, CEI-Bois and its members will now deploy a global action plan, aimed at national and international policymakers, to press home the benefits of recognising wood products as carbon stores.
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