Is Wood-Burning Carbon Neutral?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is taken from the atmosphere and used by trees to grow. When these trees die and decay or are burned, this CO2 is released back into the atmosphere. In a mature, unmanaged forest the amount of carbon being absorbed by growing trees is the same as the amount being given off by decaying dead trees, and by the animals, microbes etc. that live off the trees as they live and die. For sustainably managed woodland, or energy crops, the process is similar. On balance, wood is never removed faster than it is added by new growth. Therefore the CO2 released when the wood fuel is burned is never more than the CO2 being taken up by new growth. It is therefore termed ‘carbon neutral’.
