On May 25th, 2022, I attended roundtable discussion organized by the Slovenian Forestry Institute with the theme ‘Forests and Wood: In Time and Space’, which was dedicated to the review of the condition and restoration of forests, development trends and threats forest are facing and the properties of wood.
The round table was concluded with a expert panel on the importance of wood for Slovenia’s bioeconomy and energy strategy, where I actively participated emphasizing the following key points, as a representative of the InnoRenew CoE:
• The circular bioeconomy and the European Forest Strategy dictate the cascading use of wood and are in favor of products with a long life span.
• Lower-quality wood that is burned or exported should be properly processed into finished products, since in addition to carbon storage, wood has an important substitution value in the construction industry.
• There is an urgent need to invest in plants for the processing of low-quality wood. For residues that are not suitable for durable products, Slovenia needs well-located co-production plants for heat and electricity.
• It is necessary to drastically improve the energy efficiency of rural households and tackle energy poverty.
• By burning wood biomass without first using the raw material for durable products, we irreparably damage the environment and lose economic value.
Check here to watch the event.
