According to the Finnish Forest Research Institute, five million cubic metres of sawn timber have been consumed in Finland annually in the 2000’s. This equals four million metric tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide. That is seven percent of Finland’s annual greenhouse gas emission.

However, only a small amount of sawn timber ends up as products and therefore increases the carbon storages. Also, some products are removed from use, and this decreases the carbon storages.

"Even taking these factors into account, a growing amount of carbon is being stored in sawn timber products every year. The amount stored equals several percent of Finland’s annual greenhouse gas emissions,” says Mr. Jani Laturi, Researcher at the Finnish Forest Research Institute.

According to the calculations of the Institute, the amount of carbon stored in wooden buildings and wooden structures in Finland equalled the amount of a year’s greenhouse gas emissions converted into carbon dioxide in 2000.

Since then the carbon storages in wood products have increased by 12 percent annually, and in 2004 the carbon storages were 26.6 million tonnes metric.

The greatest carbon store in Finland is formed by the peatlands, which store some 5.500 million tonnes of carbon. Forests store some 800 million tonnes of carbon; the amount sequestered in living trees also increases every year.

Carbon stores grow even if timber use decreases
The Finnish Forest Research Institute has formulated several models for predicting the development of the carbon stores in wood products. According to the models the carbon stores in sawn timber products will nearly double by 2050 even if the annual consumption of sawn timber remains at the current level.

"But if the sawn timber consumption increases by 1.3 percent annually, as has been the case in recent years, the carbon stores will be 2.5 times as large as today by 2050,” Laturi says. According to Laturi the amount of carbon stored in timber products will increase even if the consumption of sawn timber decreases.

The calculations assume that about half of the timber products will be in use for 40 years from being manufactured. With wooden boards, the estimate was that half of them would be in use for 25 years from being manufactured.

”Carbon stores in timber products matter”
The study also included an estimate of the current value of the changes in the carbon stores. The calculations assumed the price of one carbon dioxide tonne in emission trading to be 15 euros and the interest rate to be four percent.

Thus, the value of the carbon stores varied between 440 million and 1380 million euros, depending on the consumption rate and the life cycle of the products.

”The carbon sequestered in timber products every year equals several percent of Finland’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. This does matter, and it should not be overlooked in the climate negotiations,” Laturi says.

A wooden house stores more
carbon than is produced in making it
The calculations described above do not take into account the fact that after their first use, wood products can be used as energy – or recycled.

Similarly, the study does not take into account the fact that wood can be used to replace materials whose manufacturing causes carbon dioxide emissions, such as steel and concrete. A wooden house stores significantly more carbon than the amount released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide during its construction.

Advice on saving energy and passive house solutions can be used to decrease the carbon dioxide emissions during the life cycle of the building, be it wooden or concrete.

Ministry to examine the
building code in regard to wood
The Finnish Ministry of the Environment has set up a working group to examine the provisions of the Finnish building code relating to wood. The group will review the legislation on the structural fire safety of wooden buildings, for example.

The group will examine the building code to see whether it includes provisions that cause unfair obstacles and extra costs to the use of wood in construction.

The group started its work in the beginning of this month and is scheduled to complete it by October 2010.

By Krista Kimmo



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