In the minds of
climate alarmists,
people’s safety
is less important
than “storing carbon”.
There was a
fire tragedy at
Bradford City’s
wood stadium in 1985,
when a tiny fire under
the stands engulfed
a wooden terrace
within minutes,
killing 56 fans.
Yet the EU
wants to increase
wood construction,
because trees
lock up carbon.
They say it's futile to plant
millions of trees if they are left
to rot, and release the CO2
they previously captured.
A study from the Germany’s
Potsdam Institute (PIK),
found that a global boom
in wood buildings could
lock in up to 700 million tons
of carbon a year.
It said a five-story
residential building
structured in laminated
timber can store up to
180 kilos of carbon
per square meter –
three times more than
in the trunk, branches
and leaves of natural forests.
PIK’s Hans Schellnhuber
said:
“Societies have made
good use of wood for buildings
for many centuries, yet now
the challenge of climate
stabilization calls for
a very serious up-scaling.
"If we engineer the wood
into modern building materials
and smartly manage harvest
and construction, we humans
can build ourselves a safe home
on Earth.”
The head of the
Committee on
Climate Change,
Chris Stark, told
BBC News:
“Timber buildings
can be tall and safe.
Displacing cement,
brick and steel with wood
means more than double
the carbon savings
in buildings overall."
“With encouragement
from the Government,
we could triple the amount
of carbon locked into buildings
– one of the simplest steps
we can take to help meet
the UK’s climate goals.”
Fears of fires are slowing
the spread of wood-based
buildings in England.
The government there
is planning to reduce
the maximum height
of wood-framed buildings
from six stories to four.
England is proposing
timber-based flats, hotels,
and boarding houses
should be limited to
11 meters, which is
3 to 4 stories.
In higher buildings,
timber would be okay
for floors, but banned
from outside walls.
But in Norway.
a new “ply-scraper”
stretches up 18 stories,
the same height
were deemed safe
by standards
authorities in
North America.
Members of
the timber trade
say England
misunderstands
the science
behind timber
construction.
They say timber walls
can be made safe
by methods including
flame-retardant treatments,
and fire-resistant claddings.
Plans have been approved for
a new wood soccer stadium by
Zaha Hadid Architects
for the Forest Green Rovers:
Matt Linegar from the
Finnish timber giant
Stora Enso told BBC News:
“Properly-constructed
timber buildings can be safe
in a fire – it depends on
the design."