Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee

Conclusion 23

Fifth Report - Seeing the wood for the trees: the contribution of the forestry and timber sectors to biodiversity and net zero goals Published 19 Jul 2023 Paragraph 119

Environmental Audit Committee Sustainable timber and deforestation All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Conclusion (the committee's words)

Against a backdrop of increasing demand, the UK’s softwood timber production is set to peak in the late 2030s before falling back to current levels in the 2040s. Given the UK’s heavy reliance on timber imports and the potential negative impacts that increased UK and global demand could have on the planet’s most ecologically sensitive and biodiverse forests, it is right that the UK should do more to meet a higher proportion of its timber consumption through domestically grown timber. It is unlikely that the UK will be able to fully supply all its timber needs domestically, especially against a backdrop of increasing demand and limited land availability. There is nevertheless scope to increase domestic timber production.

From: Environmental Audit Committee, Fifth Report - Seeing the wood for the trees: the contribution of the forestry and timber sectors to biodiversity and net zero goals (HC 637), paragraph 119, 19 July 2023

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 15 December 2023 (deadline 19 September 2023).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government agrees that forestry and timber will be crucial nature-based solutions for Net Zero and biodiversity, says it has "already acted or is planning action" on many recommendations, and sets out where it is working with industry and consulting rather than committing to the Committee's specific proposals.

On sub-targets for woodland types, the Government says it "could consider" them but that they "would not be statutory", and that a single undifferentiated target was set "to improve delivery confidence".
On a long-term domestic timber production target, it says setting one "would be challenging" because harvesting rates depend on factors such as global timber markets.
On the Timber in Construction Roadmap, it reports "good progress" and says it intends to publish "later in 2023".
On biomass, it says its Biomass Strategy sets out actions the Government is "minded to take" to strengthen sustainability criteria, "subject to consultation", and "intend[s] to publish a consultation" in 2024.

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