November 21st was the National Tree Day, established by the Italian Republic in order to pursue the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and promote the protection of the environment, the reduction of pollution and the enhancement of the forest heritage. “We cannot fail to recall how, thanks to their large extension, Italian woods and forests remove about 50 million tons of carbon dioxide from the environment a year. Each tree is a priceless heritage that must be defended and valued through a correct and responsible management of our woods. The prerequisite for having enormous benefits both in environmental and economic terms throughout the country“, said Angelo Luigi Marchetti, president of Assolegno which in FederlegnoArredo represents about 500 Italian companies of primary wood processing and construction.
“As already reported last year in the first national report on the state of forests and the forestry sector, Italy has over 11 million hectares covered by woods and forests, equal to more than 35 percent of the national territory. A very high extension and variety that allows our woods to ‘work’ at their best. It is also necessary to raise awareness more and more institutions and public opinion on the fact that the construction sector is responsible for 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Not only do we say it, but the president of the European Commission Ursula von Der Leyen also recently recalled it, Therefore – continued Marchetti – our commitment will be aimed at ensuring that the consumption of fossil fuels is reduced to a minimum and maximized on the contrary, precisely through a responsible management of our forest heritage, the use of alternative and sustainable sources from the point of view of the circular economy.
In this sense, the ability of wood to store Co2 during the life cycle of trees represents an important driver of affirmation of this material, capable of accompanying and encouraging the growth of the industrial chain to which the Assolegno companies belong“.
