Principles of GHG emissions assessment of wooden building products

The paper discusses and draws conclusions about the assessment principles of the global warming potential (GWP) of wooden building products. The discussion is based on the results of literature studies on life cycle assessments (LCAs) of wooden building products and research results on the effects of forestry on the carbon balance.

Important issues that affect the assessment results of wooden building products include the consideration of carbon uptake during growth, the effect of harvesting on the carbon balance of forests and the consideration of the so-called substitution effect. The paper discusses the significance of these issues and draws conclusions about the justified consideration of these in product or economy level assessments and when seeking information on long-term or short-term impacts.

The paper addresses the fact that average, regional and country-specific information should be developed for the land use impacts of wooden products. This would make it possible to consider reference land use scenarios in the LCAs of wooden building products. There is an urgent need for further development of the current standards to better support the assessment of the GHG reduction potential of wood products and buildings, especially with regard to the political targets to rapidly reduce the greenhouse gases (GHGs) within the coming decades.