How to use forest for greenhouse gas mitigation: building materials, bio-energy, or carbon storage?
The kind and amount of primary energy used to produce building materials, the production processes and the treatment of the building materials after the demolition of the building, affect the flow of greenhouse gases (GHG) to the atmosphere in different ways over different time periods. Here, primary energy use, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions from the construction of a multi-storey building, with either a wood or a concrete frame, are calculated in a life cycle perspective. The primary energy use, based mainly on fossil fuels, in the production of building materials is about 60-80% higher if concrete frames are used instead of wood frames. The GHG balance of wood materials will strongly depend on how the wood is treated after its utilization. The GHG balance will be slightly positive if all demolition wood is used to replace fossil fuels, slightly negative if part of the demolition wood is re-used, and clearly positive if all wood is deposited in landfills with the pr
