How much do you know about renewable energy and forests?

The IPCC concludes that sustainable forest management and forest products like lumber and bioenergy are critical climate change mitigation measures. In fact, according to the IPCC’s recent report on land use, “sustainable forest management aimed at providing timber, fiber, biomass, non-timber resources, and other ecosystem functions and services, can lower greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to adaptation.”

Sweden’s use of bioenergy has more than tripled since 1970, and forest health and forest carbon stocks have also increased. In 2009, bioenergy surpassed oil as Sweden’s leading energy source.

In the United Kingdom, utility providers are increasingly turning to sustainably sourced wood pellets and other renewable energy sources like wind and solar. As a result, in 2019, the U.K. has generated more electricity from clean energy than from fossil fuels, and coal use has dropped from 30% to 3%.

The benefits of renewable energy are numerous. By 2050, renewable energy could help reduce the electricity sector’s global warming emissions by approximately 81 percent.

More than 2.5 million jobs are supported by the forest products industry, according to the National Alliance of Forest Owners. Most of these jobs are found in rural communities and include engineers, planners, arborists, biologists, ecologists, rangers and more.

Sustainably sourced wood pellets – a form of renewable bioenergy – can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85% when used in place of coal to produce electricity. And, as long as there is a market for forest products, landowners will continue to grow more trees. According to USDA data, the total amount of carbon stored in U.S. forests has increased every year since 1990 and has doubled since 1953, thanks in part to a strong demand for forest products like lumber and bioenergy.

Completed in March 2019, Mjøstårnet is a 18-story, 280-foot-tall mixed-use building in Brumunddal, Norway, made entirely out of wood. But it may not hold the record for long – Japan is set to build a 1,148-feet-tall, 70-story timber tower by 2041.

Though it is considered a clean fuel, natural gas is not a renewable energy source because it does not naturally replenish itself. Wind, solar and biomass (bioenergy) are considered renewable energy because they are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in their output.

The U.N. estimates there are more than 100 million tons of plastic in our oceans, and acknowledges pollution from plastic waste is a “major environmental problem of global concern.” Paper-based packaging is one part of the solution to this problem. Instead of plastic packaging made from fossil fuel, renewable paper packaging can be used for a range of items like fragile glassware, perishable food, medicines and more.

Climate Week is an annual event that began in 2009 to run alongside the U.N. General Assembly. Organized by The Climate Group, the event brings together international leaders from business, government and civil society to showcase global climate action. This year, it runs Sept. 23-29.