Carbon Mitigation Impacts of Increased Softwood Lumber and Structural Panel Use for Nonresidential Construction in the United States

• Published in: Forest products journal Vol. 66; no. 1-2; pp. 77 - 87
• Main Authors: Nepal, Prakash, Bergman, Richard D, Skog, Kenneth E, Abt, Karen L, McKeever, David B, Abt, Robert C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison Forest Products Society 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Building codes; Building construction; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Concrete; Economic aspects; Emission standards; Emissions; Estimates; Forecasts and trends; Forest products; Forest products industry; Industrial buildings; Inventory; Investments; Landfill; Management; Manufacturing; Prices; Public buildings; Reforestation; Religious buildings; Timber; Wood products; Nepal; United States > US; USA
• ISSN: 0015-7473; 2376-9637
• DOI: 10.13073/FPJ-D-15-00019

Abstract More wood use in the United States to construct low-rise nonresidential (NR) buildings would increase consumption and production of softwood (SW) lumber, engineered wood products, and structural and nonstructural wood panels. Using a consequential life-cycle analysis, we estimated the change in net CO 2 emissions that would be caused by increased use of SW lumber and structural panels in NR construction. Carbon (C) storage and emissions were projected over 50 years for baseline and increased wood use scenarios using the US Forest Products Module operating within the Global Forest Products Model (USFPM/GFPM) and the Southern region timber supply model (SRTS). Increased wood use in NR construction (C content of 428 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent [tCO 2 e]) could provide an emissions reduction of 870 million tCO 2 e over 50 years or a net emissions reduction of 2.03 tCO 2 e/tCO 2 e of extra wood used in NR buildings over 50 years. The CO 2 savings varied for products provided in the South, North, and West because of differences in biological timber regrowth; market-induced changes in land use; differences in timber harvests, lumber, and structural panel production; and associated differences in C stored in forests, harvested wood products, logging slash, and manufacturing emissions. The US South provided the largest net change, −2.83 tCO 2 e/tCO 2 e of extra wood products, followed by the North and West with −1.89 and −0.60 tCO 2 e/tCO 2 e of extra wood, respectively. These results suggest strategies that result in increased use of wood in place of nonwood products in NR buildings would be effective in mitigating CO 2 emissions.