FEATURES
Carbon dioxide that is stored in trees remains in place throughout the life of the tree, even after it has been turned into a wood product.
wood is incinerated in its end-of-life phase for bioenergy,
the amount of carbon dioxide emitted at that point is
equivalent to the amount originally absorbed by the tree.
As such, there is no net addition of carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere. The storage of carbon dioxide in the
building (wood material) can be seen as a postponed
neutralisation of the carbon dioxide stored.
• During the usage phase, a wood product stores carbon
equating to around the same amount of atmospheric
carbon dioxide as the wood product weighs.
• During demolition and removal, wood products can be
sent for energy recovery, which usually releases
considerably more energy than is used to produce the
building. This energy is carbon neutral and replaces fossil
energy sources.
• In stark contrast to other construction materials, building
in wood is based on a renewable natural resource and
does not consume finite raw materials.
• Producing well-insulated apartment blocks with a
wooden structural frame is resource-efficient, with
reduced transport and rapid assembly. In addition, the
construction site does not need to be as big and the
noise levels are considerably lower, much to the relief of
local neighbours.
Once wood can no longer be reused, or its material
recovered for use in fibreboard and other sheet materials for
40 JUNE / JULY 2019 //
"A four-storey building in wood
provides net storage of 150t of
carbon dioxide."
example, it can still generate energy through incineration.
This energy is climate-neutral and is in fact stored solar
energy. The carbon dioxide released during incineration was
once absorbed by the tree as it grew in the forest.
In 2008, the European Parliament approved a climate
package with the overall aim to prevent global warming from
increasing by more than two degrees, compared with
pre-industrialisation. The European Union (EU) has agreed
four targets that must be met by 2020.
Based on the first three, these targets are often referred
to as the 20-20-20 targets as follows:
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%
compared with 1990 levels.
• Moving towards a 20% increase in energy efficiency.
• Increasing the share of renewable energy in final energy
consumption to 20%.
• A 10% share of renewables in the transport sector.
It is important for the industry to work together in achieving
the climate objectives. Many initiatives have already been
launched, but there is still a long way to go.
www.timberiq.co.za