Allen Tien, MD, MHS mdlogix.com 94,698 田一彦From Harvest To Housing: CLT L...
From Harvest To Housing: CLT Locks Away More Carbon Than It Emits Carbon accounting defines the debate about cross laminated timber. The claim that CLT is carbon negative depends on boundaries and… | Michael Barnard
From Harvest To Housing: CLT Locks Away More Carbon Than It Emits Carbon accounting defines the debate about cross laminated timber. The claim that CLT is carbon negative depends on boundaries and rules, but the math is clear. Environmental product declarations for Canadian production show process emissions of about 120 kilograms of CO2 per cubic meter. That same cubic meter stores close to a ton absorbed during tree growth. The balance is negative by a wide margin before panels even reach a construction site. CleanTechnica article, fifth in series: https://lnkd.in/gwJFg-Jw Standards often separate storage from emissions, treating it as temporary until end-of-life is known. Yet when CLT is used in long-lived buildings, carbon remains locked away for decades. Designing for reuse or recycling can extend storage further. Policy can support this by requiring EPDs for all structural materials and by granting credit for storage in buildings expected to last fifty to a hundred years. Supply chain choices matter. Diesel logging equipment, fossil kilns, and petrochemical adhesives all add to emissions. Electrifying harvesting and hauling, shifting kilns to biomass or heat pumps, and scaling bio-based adhesives reduce that positive number. With Canada’s grid heading to net zero by 2035, electrification directly strengthens the carbon negative balance. Risks include inconsistent standards across jurisdictions and ongoing skepticism about permanence. But enablers are in place: developer demand for transparency, European precedents that responsibly credit storage, and Canada’s advantage in forestry and clean power. With better accounting frameworks, CLT will be recognized not only as carbon negative in practice, but in policy, aligning housing, economy, and climate outcomes.
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