Carbon Dioxide

It is now widely accepted that climate change and global warming are happening, that the causes are largely man-made, and that the effects are potentially disastrous.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most important anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas (GHG), although not the most potent, accounting for over 75% of total GHG emissions. The remaining 25% consists of methane (14.3%), nitrous oxide (7.9%) and fluorinated gases (1.1%).

In 1780 the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere stood at 280 parts per million (ppm). Production of CO₂ has increased significantly since the industrial revolution and continues to increase, as it is closely related to the growth in energy consumption and changes in the use of land resulting from an increasingly mechanized, affluent and growing population. In 2006 it stood at 382pmm – an increase of 36%. In 2006 it stood at 382pmm – an increase of 36%. Between 1970 and 2004 annual emissions grew by about 80%.

Source: IPCC AR4 Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers, 2007

The Stern Report (2006) suggests 1% of global GDP will need to be spent annually to stabilize levels at 550ppm CO₂e (this includes all the other greenhouse gases within the CO₂ figure; the CO₂ only figure is 450ppm), a politically acceptable target.

This level requires global emissions to peak by 2016, declining by 1-3% annually thereafter, to reach 25% below current levels by 2050. Given the expected rise in global GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by 2050, this implies emissions per unit of GDP to be just one quarter of 2006 levels.

So the need to reduce CO₂ emissions is urgent, and every available solution needs to be adopted, particularly when the solution is as pain-free as substituting wood for other building materials and for fossil fuels.

UK government CO₂ emissions targets

In 1998, following the Kyoto Protocol, the EU set the UK the target to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% by 2012. However, the UK Government has a domestic goal to reduce CO₂ emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2010.  The Climate Change Bill, published in 2007, provides, for the first time, a statutory target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050.

The forest products industry believes it can play a part in achieving those targets.