Climate mitigation strategies in the forest sector have traditionally focused on carbon storage within standing biomass (For-C). However, Harvested Wood Products (HWP) represent a significant and transferable carbon reservoir that expands the climate benefits of forest management. Current HWP accounting often relies on absolute carbon stocks, which tend to favor larger countries and hide the relative efficiency and "intensity of use" of national forest industries.

In this study we propose a different approach, based on IPCC methodology, that allows size-independent comparisons of how effectively EU Member States convert forest growth into carbon storage in HWP. We use a methodological framework that integrates FAOSTAT product flow data with FAO Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) data. Following the 2019 IPCC Refinement guidelines, we normalize carbon stocks by forest area (t C/ha) and calculate the HWP/For-C ratio, as the proportion of carbon retained in products relative to the amount of carbon in aboveground forest biomass, to assess the contribution of the HWP sector to carbon sequestration over the period 1990-2024.

Preliminary results suggest distinct regional patterns in the intensity of forest resource use across European countries. Most countries (n = 15) exhibit HWP/For-C ratios below 15%, while 8 countries maintain a ratio above 25% with Portugal exhibiting the highest ratio (~44%). We also analyzed the evolution of specific HWP categories (sawnwood, panels, and paper) for each country and we suggest the use of the sum of forest and HWP stocks as an indicator of the proposed concept of "Total National Reservoir".

Our findings demonstrate that maximizing carbon storage benefits requires a strategic balance between forest conservation, product use, and industrial efficiency. The proposed area-normalized framework provides a standardized benchmark for national and EU forest policies, enabling the identification of underutilized mitigation potential and informing long-term carbon neutrality targets.

This research was financed by PRR/IAPMEI/Aviso 02/C05-i01/2022, CIRCULARTECH (Contribute to solving a problem that humanity has faced since the industrial revolution: waste) – Carbon WISE