Climate protection

Timber construction and CO₂: Using timber is active climate protection

Building with timber is one of the simplest yet most effective ways of removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. Wood stores this climate-damaging gas for many decades – and even longer when used as a building material. This means that not only is an aesthetically pleasing material used that is constantly being replenished, but an active contribution is also made to climate protection. In future, timber architecture will play an even more decisive role in the fight against the climate crisis.

Wood as a CO₂ store

Wood has a unique ability: it binds CO₂. One cubic metre of wood stores around one tonne of this climate-relevant greenhouse gas. This occurs through the photosynthesis of trees, which absorb CO₂ from the air and convert it into carbon, which is stored in the wood. When building with timber, this carbon is sequestered long-term and remains in the timber for as long as it is used as a building material. Timber houses thus act as ‘second forests’, continuing to hold the CO₂ stored in the trees.

The dual benefits of wood

When wood is harvested from forests and used as a building material, this enhances the climate protection benefits of the forests. Austria’s forests are home to around 3.4 billion trees, which together sequester approximately 3,600 million tonnes of CO₂. This is equivalent to around 45 times the amount of CO₂ emitted in Austria each year. The advantage of wood as a building material is that it not only stores carbon but also significantly reduces the ecological footprint of buildings. Wood replaces CO₂-intensive building materials such as concrete or steel, the production of which is associated with high energy consumption and high CO₂ emissions (‘substitution effect’). This is illustrated by the carbon footprint of one square metre of external wall construction: a solid timber structure has a carbon footprint of -88 kg CO₂, whereas bricks generate +57 kg CO₂ and concrete +82 kg CO₂.

Wood therefore has a more climate-positive impact, as its production generates significantly less CO₂ than that of other building materials.

Sustainability and reuse

The benefits of wood do not end with construction. At the end of a timber building’s useful life, this material does not require costly disposal. Many timber components can be reused – for example, old roof trusses are often turned into furniture. If material reuse is no longer possible, wood can be burned, releasing only as much CO₂ as was originally absorbed through photosynthesis during its growth. Compared to other non-renewable mineral building materials such as concrete and steel, timber buildings therefore generate around 40 per cent fewer CO₂ emissions over their entire life cycle, as demonstrated by a study conducted by TU Berlin in collaboration with Tegel Projekt GmbH.

Conclusion

Timber construction offers one of the best solutions for active climate protection in the building sector. Timber acts as a sustainable carbon sink, reduces the environmental footprint of buildings and helps to achieve climate targets. With every tonne of CO2 stored in wood, and with every timber building, we make a significant contribution to combating the climate crisis.

Building with timber is therefore not only a step towards the future of architecture, but also towards sustainable and climate-friendly construction.

Sources

https://www.proholz.at/wald-holz-klima/holz-verwenden-ist-aktiver-klimaschutz
Dr Dr h.c. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber in the Pfeifer Talk: "Escaping the climate crisis through timber construction", available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_gvyc-RrwY
Prof Dr Hubert Röder in the Pfeifer Talk: "Active forest management and energy use of wood as climate protection", available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWhxx_Sbtio
Technische Universität Berlin/Tegel Projekt GmbH: "Forests, cities and their carbon cycle – Quantifying the impact of different construction methods on the carbon balance in the Schumacher Quarter, Berlin", January 2024. Available at: https://tegelprojekt.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Holzbaustudie_dt_low.pdf

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