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construction sector can even be turned from a carbon source into a carbon sink if organic building materials like wood and smart technologies like AI are applied,” she told the European Parliament.


Besides storing carbon, wood has the benefit of having very low embodied carbon compared to steel and concrete – that is the level of emissions generated in manufacture, processing and transport. Potentially boosting the environmental and


market potential of timber is the anticipated growth in the carbon offset market, predicted by Bloomberg NEF analysts to reach US$550bn by 2050.


In this context, Mr Brannen points to the EU’s establishment in 2024 of the ‘Carbon Removal Certification Framework’. This will support initiatives across industry, farming and the built environment for increasing safe storage of carbon.


“In the case of the built environment, the legislation will help facilitate carbon offsets issued against CO2


stored in wood [building]


products,” writes Mr Brannen. Also vital to reduce emissions from the built environment is to improve building energy performance. The book highlights that wood and other bio-based insulation products, unlike man-made, finite-material- based alternatives, has the benefit of storing carbon as well as the capacity to keep buildings warm in winter and cool in summer.


In a chapter titled Wooden Skyscrapers, Mr Brannen maintains that latest timber technologies and increasingly advanced products, notably engineered or mass timber products, such as new generation cross- laminated timber panels and glulam, add to wood’s capacity to revolutionise the modern built environment. They enable the construction sector to build bigger and better in wood, with latest mass timber buildings storing thousands of tonnes of carbon. In this regard, tall timber residential towers,


now exceeding 100m in height may have grabbed the headlines. But the consensus, states Mr Brannen, is that mass timber has greatest potential for the mid-rise buildings that are expected to provide the bulk of housing in towns and cities globally into the future.


“It will be thousands of 10-15 storey timber builds all over the world that will make the biggest impact because such buildings are by far the most common in the world’s growing urban environment,” he writes. He acknowledges that fire safety is a common concern when it comes to building in wood given that it is, after all, combustible. But he maintains that latest research and ongoing technical advances are resulting in structural timber buildings that are as fire-safe as counterparts built in any other construction material.


“The timber industry takes fire seriously and has put significant investment into establishing how the use of timber can be incorporated to create a fire-safe building and is leading the way on fire-safe building technology,” he states. Another key issue for building more in wood, is to ensure there is enough of it for the job and that use of wood goes hand in hand with forest maintenance and growth through sustainable forestry management and forest governance. This also requires increased research and education. “We need to better understand the benefits of forests and trees, especially their ability to sequester CO2


and store carbon,” says Mr


Brannen. “Many more people recently have sought to understand where their food comes from. We need to embark on a similar journey regarding where our wood comes from, along with a better understanding of the climate benefits wood offers. This would generate greater public support for the forests and trees we already have and, where appropriate, increasing their number significantly. Such an increase would deliver multiple benefits – most notably boosting the supply of timber, our key material for decarbonising the built environment.”


The book also highlights wood’s potential


as a key raw material in global transition to a low-carbon, circular bioeconomy, where the emphasis is on using low-environmental impact, notably bio-based construction and manufacturing materials, and also those that can be re-used, repurposed and recycled to extend their life span. Wood scores highly in this respect. But, looking at Europe, Mr Brannen acknowledges that, currently, most timber is used in short- to medium-life products.


“The single biggest climate change gain we can make from the bioeconomy is by


optimising the percentage of timber that is used to make long-life harvested wood products for the built environment,” he says. “Here they will both store carbon and substitute carbon intensive alternatives, such as concrete and steel.”


At the same time, he stresses, forests must be managed according to “standards set by sustainable forest management (SFM)” and greater investment should go into making them more resilient. Besides driving uptake of SFM, the book also advocates further research into “harnessing the climate benefits of agroforestry”, both as a carbon sink and to underpin wood supply.


It also highlights timber’s potential as a prime raw material for offsite, modern methods of construction, where modular buildings are prefabricated in factories. Timber’s strength to weight lends itself readily to this approach, which can also boost construction rates and, given a large part of the build process takes place in controlled factory conditions, the quality and particularly energy performance of finished buildings.


Mr Brannen concludes by quoting the research paper ‘Wood buildings as a climate solution’ by Austin Himes of Mississippi State University College of Forest Resources and Gwen Busby, director of economic for GreenWood Resources Inc. “We estimate that substituting conventional building materials with wood in half of new urban construction could provide 9% of global emissions reductions needed to meet 2030 targets for keeping global warming below 1.5°C,” they say. “This could be a substantial piece of the emissions reduction portfolio needed to meet the ambitious targets, without substantial changes to consumption, lifestyle or policy.” ■


Above: The Black and White building interior PHOTO: ED REEVE www.ttjonline.com | September/October 2024 | TTJ


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