sectoral economic costs and benefits of ghg mitigation - IPCC

David Friedman
The Kyoto Treaty and the Forest Products Industry 1
David Friedman 2
General Information
• The U.S. Forest Products industry employs 1.37 million people directly and accounts for
$267 billion in sales revenues. It ranks as one of the top ten manufacturing industries in 46
states.
• The industry produces 34 percent of the world’s pulp and 29 percent of the world’s paper and
paperboard.
• The industry has an unusually long capital cycle, with replacement cycles of more than 20
years.
• Over the past thirty years the industry production output has doubled.
• Over 45 million tons, or about 45 percent of paper is recovered each year for recycling in the
U.S.
Energy Intensity
• Energy is an important cost component for the forest products industry as manufacturing
paper and other forest products requires a tremendous amount of heat and water. Energy
costs represent the third largest manufacturing cost component, representing about 6 to 8
percent of total manufacturing costs.
• The industry has significant cogeneration output (over 1.5 quads annually) and accounts for
nearly half of the nation’s biomass energy generation.
Gains in Energy Efficiency
• Over the past 25 years, the industry has made great strides in energy efficiency. Based upon
industry survey data, the energy intensity has dropped from 19.1 million BTUs per ton of
paper produced in 1972 to 11.5 million BTUs per ton in 1997.
• The fuel mix has also changed significantly. Residual fuel oil accounted for 22.2% of
purchased and fossil energy in 1972, but amounted to only 6.3% in 1997.
• The industry has also become much more energy self- sufficient over the past 25 years. Selfgenerated
renewable sources of energy (which have zero net carbon emissions) increased
from 40 percent of the total energy used in 1972 to 56 percent of the industry’s total energy
consumption during 1997. The use of these biomass sources represented the equivalent of
approximately 231 million barrels of oil.
Impacts of the Kyoto Treaty on the Industry
• In 1999, the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) conducted a study
on the estimated costs for the US Forest Products industry to meet the Kyoto treaty
greenhouse gas reduction target. (Special Report No. 99-02, June 1999)
1 This submission was distributed by Paul Cicil but not discussed at this IPCC meeting.
2 American Forest and Paper Association
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