The International Conference “The European Forest-Based Sector: Bio-Responses to Address New Climate and Energy Challenges?” took place from 6-8 November 2008, in Nancy, France. It was held under the auspices of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and with the support of the European Commission (EC), and organized by Ecofor, France.
The Conference brought together around 230 representatives of the forest-based sector, European member States and the EC, non-governmental organizations and academia. Participants addressed the role of the forest-based sector in light of two of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change and the energy crisis. These two crises are closely linked, and the forest-based sector has a potential to play a mitigating role in this regard.
The Conference aimed to provide policy makers with objective information regarding the role of the forest-based sector in relation to the physical processes of the carbon cycle, the competition between wood and other materials, and the energy market. Three themes were addressed: forests as carbon sinks; wood-based products: carbon storage and energy conservation; and the forest-based sector: source of renewable energy.
Participants met in plenary and in parallel sessions on Thursday and Friday, discussing the latest scientific developments in the forest-based sector and options for policy development. On Saturday, field trips were held to various research and forestry facilities in the surroundings.
