The economic and emissions benefits of engineered wood products in a low-carbon future
There has been rapid growth in the use of engineered wood products in the construction sector in recent decades. We evaluate the economy-wide impacts of replacing carbon-intensive construction inputs, such as steel and cement, with lumber products in the US under an emissions constraint. We find tha...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
2019
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121478 |
| Summary: | There has been rapid growth in the use of engineered wood products in the construction sector in recent decades. We evaluate the economy-wide impacts of replacing carbon-intensive construction inputs, such as steel and cement, with lumber products in the US under an emissions constraint. We find that the ability to substitute lumber-based building materials increases production from the lumber and forestry sectors and decreases production from carbon-intensive sectors such as cement. Under a carbon cap-and-trade policy, the ability to substitute lumber products lowers the carbon price and the GDP cost of meeting the carbon cap, with more overall emissions abatement in the construction industry. |
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