21 October 2009: A policy forum on “The Forest Sector in the Green Economy,” organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 15 October 2009, in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighted the need to promote and maximize the forest sector’s contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to reflect this in post-Kyoto climate change agreements.

The forum discussed the need to promote the sustainable management of forests, including through certification processes, to reinforce the forest-based sequestration of carbon and therefore contribute to offsetting global greenhouse gas emissions. Participants also noted that significant opportunities are vested in green building to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and the contribution of wood-based products to green construction and furniture production can be significant, with wood as a renewable and eco-friendly material. [UNECE press release]