Estonia, Finland, Sweden to jointly start developing skills for sustainable wood use

  • 2022-11-24
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas took part on Thursday in an event dedicated to the use of timber and timber architecture at the Finnish Nature Center Haltia where an announcement was made that Estonia together with Finland and Sweden will start developing skills needed for the sustainable use of wood.

Estonia is also set to join the Nordic Bauhaus initiative focusing on creating an inclusive and sustainable living environment that takes into consideration everyone's needs, spokespeople for the government said.

The prime minister pointed out that Estonia as well as the other Nordic countries are rich in forests, and wood is a crucial material for ensuring sustainable construction.

"Estonia together with Finland and Sweden will create a program for developing wooden construction skills to engage in cooperation and exchange knowledge about wooden architecture and construction," she said, adding that the platform will be part of the New European Bauhaus academy for sustainable construction, which was announced by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Finland on Thursday.

Kallas, von der Leyen, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Ebba Busch discussed at the event the role of forests in shaping a sustainable high-quality living environment.

Kallas said in her speech that forests have a substantial role in the green transition and achieving climate neutrality.

"We all want our forests to be preserved. It is of key importance to find a balance between the use and preservation of forests. We need to find ways how to add greater value to the wood we have extracted from our forests and to manufacture products from timber that bind carbon, for example furniture and wooden houses," she said.

The prime minister added that in countries that are rich in forests, the forestry sector may also need a certain amount of support for just transition in order to gradually reach a situation where forests are used in a way that benefits both their owner as well as the nature.