Paper industry: Wood must not become an emergency plug for energy supply

"Wood must not become a stopgap for energy policy," said Wolfgang Beck, Chairman of the Forestry and Wood Committee in the Association of DIE PAPIERINDUSTRIE. The state subsidy policy leads to an enormous increase in the use of biomass for energy production. In Germany, even before the energy crisis, more and more wood was used for energy than for material. Further promotion of wood combustion would deprive material value chains such as the wood pulp and cellulose industry of the important raw material wood.

Beck pointed out that the material use of wood has a 9-fold higher added value and up to 7-fold higher employment effect than the use of wood for energy. In the course of the expansion of the bioeconomy, the raw material wood will also be increasingly needed here in the future.

In this context, the Committee's Vice-Chairman, Otto Bruder, warned against political plans to further restrict the sustainable economic use of forests. The long-term sustainable wood utilisation potential available in Germany must continue to be used comprehensively in order to meet the needs of an innovative, efficient and competitive German timber industry.