Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings
Although buildings produce a third of greenhouse gas emissions, it has been suggested that they might be one of the most cost-effective climate change mitigation solutions. Among building materials, wood not only produces fewer emissions according to life-cycle assessment but can also store carbon....
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba134 |
| _version_ | 1797747864530583552 |
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| author | Ali Amiri Juudit Ottelin Jaana Sorvari Seppo Junnila |
| author_facet | Ali Amiri Juudit Ottelin Jaana Sorvari Seppo Junnila |
| author_sort | Ali Amiri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although buildings produce a third of greenhouse gas emissions, it has been suggested that they might be one of the most cost-effective climate change mitigation solutions. Among building materials, wood not only produces fewer emissions according to life-cycle assessment but can also store carbon. This study aims to estimate the carbon storage potential of new European buildings between 2020 and 2040. While studies on this issue exist, they mainly present rough estimations or are based on a small number of case studies. To ensure a reliable estimation, 50 different case buildings were selected and reviewed. The carbon storage per m ^2 of each case building was calculated and three types of wooden buildings were identified based on their carbon storage capacity. Finally, four European construction scenarios were generated based on the percentage of buildings constructed from wood and the type of wooden buildings. The annual captured CO _2 varied between 1 and 55 Mt, which is equivalent to between 1% and 47% of CO _2 emissions from the cement industry in Europe. This study finds that the carbon storage capacity of buildings is not significantly influenced by the type of building, the type of wood or the size of the building but rather by the number and the volume of wooden elements used in the structural and non-structural components of the building. It is recommended that policymakers aiming for carbon-neutral construction focus on the number of wooden elements in buildings rather than more general indicators, such as the amount of wood construction, or even detailed indirect indicators, such as building type, wood type or building size. A practical scenario is proposed for use by European decision-makers, and the role of wood in green building certification is discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:56:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6cae521b7a6b463cb2d777dff565d608 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:56:43Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-6cae521b7a6b463cb2d777dff565d6082023-08-09T14:52:38ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262020-01-0115909407610.1088/1748-9326/aba134Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildingsAli Amiri0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9476-8007Juudit Ottelin1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0878-5108Jaana Sorvari2Seppo Junnila3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2984-0383Department of Built Environment/School of Engineering, Aalto University , Espoo 00076, FinlandDepartment of Built Environment/School of Engineering, Aalto University , Espoo 00076, FinlandFinnish Environment Institute , Latokartanonkaari 11, Helsinki 00790, FinlandDepartment of Built Environment/School of Engineering, Aalto University , Espoo 00076, FinlandAlthough buildings produce a third of greenhouse gas emissions, it has been suggested that they might be one of the most cost-effective climate change mitigation solutions. Among building materials, wood not only produces fewer emissions according to life-cycle assessment but can also store carbon. This study aims to estimate the carbon storage potential of new European buildings between 2020 and 2040. While studies on this issue exist, they mainly present rough estimations or are based on a small number of case studies. To ensure a reliable estimation, 50 different case buildings were selected and reviewed. The carbon storage per m ^2 of each case building was calculated and three types of wooden buildings were identified based on their carbon storage capacity. Finally, four European construction scenarios were generated based on the percentage of buildings constructed from wood and the type of wooden buildings. The annual captured CO _2 varied between 1 and 55 Mt, which is equivalent to between 1% and 47% of CO _2 emissions from the cement industry in Europe. This study finds that the carbon storage capacity of buildings is not significantly influenced by the type of building, the type of wood or the size of the building but rather by the number and the volume of wooden elements used in the structural and non-structural components of the building. It is recommended that policymakers aiming for carbon-neutral construction focus on the number of wooden elements in buildings rather than more general indicators, such as the amount of wood construction, or even detailed indirect indicators, such as building type, wood type or building size. A practical scenario is proposed for use by European decision-makers, and the role of wood in green building certification is discussed.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba134CO2 capturecarbon storagegreen buildingsLEED |
| spellingShingle | Ali Amiri Juudit Ottelin Jaana Sorvari Seppo Junnila Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings Environmental Research Letters CO2 capture carbon storage green buildings LEED |
| title | Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings |
| title_full | Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings |
| title_fullStr | Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings |
| title_short | Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings |
| title_sort | cities as carbon sinks classification of wooden buildings |
| topic | CO2 capture carbon storage green buildings LEED |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba134 |
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