U.K. Wood Imports Rise with Demand for Biomass Fuels

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National statistics released by the Forestry Commission show that the U.K. has seen a rise of 19% in wood imports, thanks to the recent push for biomass fuels. The figures suggested that the total value of wood products, including timber, imported in 2010 into the U,K, totaled GBP 6.8 billion and comprised 10 million m3 of wood and 8 million metric tons of pulp and paper, according to KMS Baltics.

U.K. forests were also able to help counter carbon dioxide emissions by removing more than 10 million metric tons from the atmosphere, another welcome side effect of the increase in biomass demand throughout the U.K.

Woodland area in the U.K. in 2011 stands at 3.1 million hectares, with an additional 8,000 hectares of new forest created in 2010 - 2011.

According to Wagener Lohse of the forestry and climate change project, Futureforest, Europe's woodlands are key to sustainable economic development as they currently support more than four million jobs and trap 286 million metric tons of carbon a year.