In recent years, one of Portugal’s most important industries has been quick to toast big gains. But climate change is threatening to stop up future progress.

Portugal is the world’s biggest producer of cork, which is the bark of specific oak trees. Last year, exports hit a record $2.1 billion and 75% was from bottle stoppers. One out of three wine bottles worldwide has a Portuguese cork.

Not bad for a sector that was braced 20 years ago to lose significant market share to synthetic alternatives because of a molecule that caused “cork taint”, which spoiled the wine.

Back then, the industry rallied and successfully removed the offending substance and, today, cork has a competitive edge over other materials, because it’s environmentally friendly.

Not only that, cork is the only forest industry in which the tres are not cut down. Instead, cork is harvested by removing the bark from cork oaks every nine years, after which it slowly regenerates.

The oaks can live for up to 200 years, and they play a key role in cleaning the atmosphere of harmful carbon dioxide (CO2).

For each kilogram of cork produced, an oak removes 73 kg of CO2. “A cork stopper captures almost 400 grams of carbon dioxide,” says industry leader Antonio Rios de Amorim. “A single cork can offset all the emissions from producing a glass bottle.”

And that will........

© Sarnia Observer