International environmental group Canopy has unveiled an action plan to conserve up to 30 per cent of the world’s forests by 2030 by halving the amount of forest fibre in pulp manufacturing for packaging and textiles.
At the Davos World Economic Forum, Canopy called for a $69bn investment worldwide over the next decade to create mills that can pulp alternative fibres such as agricultural residues and waste cotton textiles; introduce initiatives for reduction and efficiency; and plant new well-sited, well-managed forests for fibre supply.
According to Nicole Rycroft, executive director of Canopy, the report offers a lifeline for averting the climate and biodiversity crisis within 10 years, with the IPCC having listed protection of forests – especially original forests – as critical to world safety.
“This is an action plan to shift global production of pulp, paper, packaging and viscose textiles out of Ancient and Endangered Forests and help us secure the scale of conservation that’s needed. Our brand partners want these Next Generation Solutions and the technologies are ready.
“We’re thinking big, because there’s no point to doing anything less. Now is not the time for climate despair, but for transformative action, and ultimately, hope for our forests, climate, and people the world over,” she said.
Canopy’s report says that eliminating 50 per cent of wood fibre from pulp, paper, packaging, and viscose will require 200 agricultural fibre pulp mills; 107 recycled pulp for paper mills; 17 recycled cotton garment and/or microbial cellulose fibre dissolving pulp mills; 7.5 million hectares of new forests planted on lands not earmarked for food production, habitat restoration, or carbon storage; and a reduction in consumption of 16.65 million tons through reuse and material-efficient design initiatives.
