§ Mr. DalyellTo ask sthe Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library the full text of the advice he has received from Forestry Commission scientists about the extent to which boreal forests have driven global carbon dioxide fluxes during this century, and information about the relationships with tropical deforestation.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 14 February 1994]: I have arranged for a copy of the briefing to be placed in the Library.
The Forestry Commission's research is focused on temperate rather than boreal or tropical forests. The Commission's scientists contribute to the intergovernmental panel on climate change, which was set up under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meterological Organisation, and the Commission has published a research information note, No. 189, on "Climate Change: The Contribution of Forestry to Response Strategies", which summarises some of the panel's main conclusions relating to forestry. The Comsmission has also published a research information note, No. 160, on "The Storage of Carbon in Trees and Timber", which describes preliminary calculations on the amount of carbon which can be stored in different tree species. I have arranged for copies of both notes to be placed in the Library of the House.