European Wood Policy Platform woodPoP meets in Helsinki
On 4 October 2023, 80 high-ranking experts from 19 countries as well as representatives of the European Commission and of 22 international and regional stakeholder organisations, including academia and industry, met in Helsinki. The meeting focussed on the objectives of and the next steps to be taken by the European Wood Policy Platform (woodPoP).
woodPoP provides new input for the sustainable and innovative use of wood
The Second High-Level Meeting gave the starting signal for the development of policy recommendations, measures and solutions to advance the wood-based bioeconomy within the framework of the pan-European woodPoP platform. The guidelines jointly developed in recent months provide a clear and transparent basis for the Platform’s work.
Austria’s Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, Norbert Totschnig, sees the European Wood Policy Platform as a unique opportunity to exchange views on wood-based initiatives at a political level and to deepen and further develop them together.
Finnish Environment Minister Kai Mykkänen emphasised that combating climate change is our common responsibility and that platforms and initiatives like woodPoP are therefore of particular importance.
The woodPoP initiative
The Platform is the result of a joint Finnish-Austrian initiative that is part of the Wood Initiative of the Austrian Forest Fund. It was launched in Innsbruck in December 2022.
woodPoP brings together all actors of relevance to the wood sector. As a cross-sector initiative, woodPoP facilitates and fosters cooperation between decision-makers by bringing together experts from politics, administration, business and science. In addition, best-practice models and experiences from European and national initiatives as well as international perspectives are incorporated into the process.
Five Technical Working Groups are meanwhile fully operational: Governance, led by Austria; Building, co-led by Finland and Germany; Research and Innovation, led by Switzerland; Education and Vocational Training, led by Slovenia; and Communication and Information, led by the Czech Republic.
Registration for the groups is still possible.