People are moving to cities all over the world. The CO2 balance no longer allows you to cover your vital needs with climate-damaging concrete. Wooden houses would be an alternative. But is there enough raw material for this without restricting agriculture? One study explored this.
This doesn’t look good at first glance: by the end of the century, it is estimated, 80% of all people will live in cities, instead of just over 50% today. A lot of additional space is needed there. Conventional building materials are among the biggest emitters of CO2. Large amounts of greenhouse gases are released when limestone is burned to produce cement and concrete. In steel production, electricity consumption is high. If we continue to use these materials with satisfaction, 35-60% of the amount of climate-damaging gases we could still emit if we meet the two-degree target will go into construction alone.
Wooden houses are an alternative in residential construction. But can wood be used on such a large scale without causing other problems? The renowned Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has now examined this question for the first time (in Nature Communications, Aug. 30).