The long-running ‘wood first’ argument continues in our comment section

John Alker makes some good comments (in “Sustainble Materials: Wood first?”, 13 July, Building). The aggression of the global forest barons is unbelievable, with attempts to gain mandatory use all over Europe in a co-ordinated campaign and the burghers of Hackney have swallowed it.

We trust that sanity will prevail once facts, values and unintended consequences are thought through. It’s chilling to think that timber car parks and 20-30 storey buildings (no doubt for poor people to live in) are being considered.

It’s chilling to think that timber car parks and 20-30 storey buildings are being considered

In our industry we provide facts and set public targets open to scrutiny - time now for wood to do the same: a proper LCA cradle-to-cradle that includes waste in forests and resultant methane and carbon emissions, the energy/resources needed to remineralise cleared areas, plus the percentage and the carbon/methane allowance for dead and dying trees.

Level playing fields, equivalent longevity, performance specifications, including sustainability measurements, and absences of quotas are the way forward and will produce the best outcomes.

Martin Clarke, via Building

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