Building things with wood may not be as climate-friendly as thought - New Scientist
Building things with wood may not be as climate-friendly as thought | New Scientist
Wood can be turned into sturdy replacements for steel and concrete Shutterstock/Kletr
Wood can be turned into sturdy replacements for steel and concrete
Shutterstock/Kletr
Using more wood for construction has been touted as a lower-emissions alternative to carbon-intensive steel and concrete but it may not be as carbon friendly as thought.
“It would be very convenient if wood were a better solution,” says Tim Searchinger at Princeton University. Wood is, in theory, a renewable resource and any wood used in buildings acts as long-term carbon storage. The advent of sturdy engineered-wood products like cross-laminated timber has also made it more versatile. Past research…
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”