In its latest report, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has recommended increasing wood in construction and expanding UK productive forestry to help achieve net zero by 2050.
The EAC has called for greater use of timber in construction, stating the government should support the UK sawmilling sector to transition towards producing a higher percentage of construction grade timber products and engineered timber, due to timber’s carbon storage potential as a construction product and its essential role in substituting high carbon materials, such as steel and concrete, in the built environment.
The EAC reiterated the recent APPG for the Timber Industries report, calling on the government to improve supply resilience by increasing UK productive forestry through streamlined planting and commercial softwood species targets.
The report notes that domestic production is complementary to imports of timber from forest economies like Sweden, Finland, and Latvia, which are essential to meeting long-term demand and increasing the use of timber in construction. You can read the full report, published by CTI here.