Old wooden houses aren’t just beautiful – they’re also climate
smart. Millions of tonnes of carbon are stored in wooden
houses around the world. When they’re finally torn down,
the stored energy can replace oil and other fossil fuels.
Simply replacing the steel frame of a building with wood reduces emissions in the building process by 17 percent.
“Wood is a fantastic material that replaces more energy-intensive alternatives, stores carbon during its lifetime and, when it’s reached its end, can be used as a source of energy instead of fossil fuels,” says Bruce Lippke, a professor at the University of Washington in the US.
He has devoted years to studying the role of wood in the construction sector and compared different materials and their effects on the environment, including through carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Simply replacing the steel frame of a building with wood reduces emissions in the building process by 17 percent.
“An even greater effect is achieved if you replace insulation made of fiberglass with materials made of wood-based alternatives,” Lippke says.
"Wood plays a critical role in the fight against climate change, the EU Commission has determined."
Wood plays a critical role in the fight against climate change, the EU Commission has determined. The Commission, together with several member states, is now trying to encourage the smarter use of forests in the eu.
Depending on the size and construction, a European single-family dwelling made of wood is estimated to save between 5 and 15 tons of carbon dioxide if wood replaces other materials wherever possible.
If in other contexts the United States is usually the scapegoat in the debate on climate change, the country is a leader in the field of climate-friendly construction. Of the single-family dwellings built in America, 90 percent use wooden frames, compared with 10 percent in Europe.
“There’s a tradition of building with wood here, and somewhat different technologies than in Europe,” Lippke says. “But some things are hard to change. We’ve tried to get people to stop building basements in their houses because that requires lots of concrete, since wood isn’t suitable given the moisture. ”