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Poland and UNECE raise awareness about the benefits of wood as a low-emission construction material at COP24

The 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24), taking place in Katowice, Poland, from 2 to 14 December 2018, is discussing global action to reduce emissions and keep global warming within the temperature limits of the Paris Agreement. While negotiations take place, a number of events focus on practical solutions to help humanity face the challenge.


In this context, UNECE is raising awareness of the role that wood can play in cutting down emissions when replacing more carbon-intensive materials in the construction sector. This takes the form of a cartoon entitled “The Three Little Pigs and Climate Change”, jointly developed with the Polish Ministry of the Environment and State Forests Poland, which revisits the classic fairy-tale.

In this new version, it is no longer the wolf that threatens the life of the three little pigs, but climate change – a scarier and stronger adversary.


The cartoon, made for a young audience, contains messages for all ages alike. It reminds us that carbon emissions of concrete and steel respectively are 40 and 30 percent higher than those of wood. It highlights that global CO2 emissions could be reduced by up to 31 percent if builders used wood instead of steel and concrete. This would reduce global fossil fuel consumption by 12 to 19 percent.


“It was time to change the narrative on buildings and climate change, starting from the little tales we tell our children” said Ms. Paola Deda, Officer in Charge of the Forests, Land and Housing Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, while launching the cartoon in Katowice. “We cannot continue telling the same stories; climate change is changing needs, habits, solutions and indeed, also fairy tales that cannot longer afford promoting unsustainable ways of life”, she concluded.


“We are proud of this cartoon, as it highlights the connection between our choices and their impact on their environment, in the context of climate change. The COP24 in Katowice is also about raising awareness of solutions, and sustainable paths to reduce the climate change thereat” said Mr. Andrzej Konieczny, Director General of the State Forests Poland, at the launching event. “And we are happy this video about buildings is presented in an event dedicated to forests: wood continues to be a sustainable material and it will be increasingly the choice of the future for smart and energy efficient buildings”, concluded Mr. Konieczny. 


Watch the video at: https://youtu.be/66jVm1f5KJI. It will be made available to all countries and requesting partners and hopefully translated in many languages for young audiences around the world.


For more information, please contact: Ms. Theresa Loeffler, UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section; email: [email protected]; tel: +41 22 917 4157.


Note to editors

UNECE works to promote sustainable solutions for climate neutral buildings. Together with FAO, it also works to promote the sustainable management of forests.

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