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SPECIAL REPORT: ACCELERATING NET ZERO THROUGH TIMBER CONSTRUCTION
Now is the time for net zero
The Confederation of Timber Industries’ Net Zero Now campaign outlines the benefits of scaling up the use of timber in construction
limate change is now one of the most pressing issues we face. Without effective action to limit our impact on the natural world, extreme weather in the form of storms, droughts and heat waves will only become more common. In August this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a stark warning that unless ‘immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions’ are achieved it may not be possible to limit global temperature rises to the critical 1.5˚C to 2˚C range. Also, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) stated that the UK’s strategy for climate resilience is not currently able to cope with the effects of increased temperatures, rising sea levels and extreme weather events. The UK has committed to achieving net zero by 2050 and set the world’s most ambitious legally binding target to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. While achieving this target will require innovations and new
C David Warburton, MP for Somerton and Frome, and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Timber Industries, explains why it is essential to accelerate the drive for net zero and how increased use of timber in construction can help.
approaches, there are changes that can be made immediately to accelerate reductions in carbon emissions — especially in the built environment. It is estimated that the built environment is responsible for nearly half of the UK’s carbon emissions and the initial embodied carbon (the total amount of greenhouse gas associated with production of materials and the construction process) can account for as much as 30% of this. The Net Zero Now campaign launched by the Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) earlier this year outlines the benefits of scaling up the use of timber in construction to immediately begin achieving on-going carbon reductions.
The environmental case for timber Timber is a naturally low carbon material due to the fact that trees absorb and store CO2 while they are growing. In fact, for every cubic metre of timber used in construction, 0.9 tonnes of CO2e is sequestered and stored for the lifetime of the building. The
