The government has launched two programmes – The Woodworking Industrial Programme and The Wood Construction Development Programme – which will see Finland subsitute non-renewable resources with wood in sectors such as the building industry.
The Wood Construction Development Programme will promote the use of wood in construction by increasing the production of small houses.
According to the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF), a 10% growth in timber house construction in Europe would account for about 25% of the CO2 savings prescribed by the Kyoto Protocol.
FFIF said the government’s programmes, which will run until 2010, could forge a competitive cornerstone for Finnish wood products in the global economy.
