A FORESTRY contractor fears a "raft of b******t" is on the way as people fail to fully understand pledges to end deforestation.
Martyn Neve, a contractor in Lincolnshire, worries promises made at a climate change summit in Glasgow will lead to more abuse for workers on the ground because of the wider public's failure to grasp the concept of sustainable forestry.
World leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Boris Johnson, agreed during COP26 to halt deforestation by 2030, with the Prime Minister saying we need to "end the role of humanity as nature's conqueror, and instead become nature's custodian".
However, the pledge comes amid growing concern from those within the industry that the general public is increasingly likely to have a "poor perception of the trade".
A failure to understand the difference between sustainable forestry and deforestation is one of the most widely cited factors for this and this is the point made by Martyn in his now viral social media video.
READ MORE: Time for Timber: COP26 leaders told to recognise need for wood in construction
Sharing a clip from Thetford Forest, Suffolk, and his support for the deforestation deal, he said: "Just sitting on a machine today thinking about the COP26 announcement about the ending of tree felling and I am just expecting a raft of b******t over the next few months wherever we go.
"We will be felling timber because it's what we do. It's sustainable. It's consumed. It locks up carbon.
"What we do is sustainable. All the products we are cutting here for sawmills. There's agricultural fencing posts we are cutting.
"There's a heap down there that's going to be made into chipboard and again will lock up carbon."
Martyn, who has been in the trade for 34 years, added: "It's an ongoing cycle. I am not overly educated on the subject but that's my narrative. I just know we are going to be in for a raft of b******t."
Martyn's video has been viewed thousands of times on social media and shared by scores of people from within the industry.
It comes shortly after we reported of Timber Development UK's calls for COP26 leaders to recognise the pressing need to use wood in construction.
With the built environment responsible for nearly 40 per cent of global CO2 emissions, using low-carbon renewable materials such as timber is essential for limiting the impact of global heating, industry figures say.
Timber Development UK chief executive, David Hopkins, said: “While it has been excellent to see the essential role global forests play in preventing climate change recognised in the first week of COP26, we must connect this work with the sustainable and circular economy for forest products such as timber – and this should happen today."
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