WG Stade warns: burning wood could endanger the climate course!

WG Stade warns: burning wood could endanger the climate course!

In Stade, the new waste wood power plant is being celebrated as a further step towards decarbonization in the building sector. The voting community (WG) sees the new facility as an important project, and Airbus even plans to use the resulting waste heat as part of its climate neutrality strategy. But there are also critical voices that point out the changing realities caused by climate change. The first chairman of the WG, Jochen Witt, makes it clear that the forests are “stressed and sick” due to climate change and can therefore no longer fully fulfill their function as a CO2 sink.

The discussion about wood burning is fueled by a current publication by the Federal Environment Agency. This recommends a reassessment of the CO2 emissions resulting from wood burning. In the future, these emissions should be taken into account in the greenhouse gas balances instead of being assessed as a blanket zero as was previously the case. The CO2 release from wood, especially when it is used for agricultural purposes, remains unassessed.

The pitfalls of wood burning

Energy from wood is less efficient than coal or natural gas, and burning wood releases up to twice as much CO2 to produce the same amount of heat. Even wood from sustainable forestry has a negative impact on the climate, as the WWF shows. While wood remains bound in the forests or is used as a material, the CO2 remains stored. Only when it is burned is it released again. In industrial combustion, this often happens quickly, which calls into question the positive effects of using wood.

Burning wood in small systems, such as fireplaces, also leads to incomplete combustion, which releases air pollutants that are harmful to health and gases that are harmful to the climate. The Federal Environment Agency warns that wood heating systems worsen the air quality in metropolitan areas. Fine dust in particular is a major problem, with fireplaces and wood burning systems responsible for around a fifth of emissions in Germany.

Wood burning rules

In order to reduce pollutant emissions from wood heating, it is recommended to use efficient and low-emission fireplaces, replace older heaters and use well-prepared and dried wood from sustainable forestry. Proper storage is just as important: Wood should be stored dry and protected from rain and snow. A crucial point is that wood should only be burned after a long cascade of different uses, such as furniture or lumber, in order to keep the carbon sequestered for as long as possible.

With the expected reassessment of CO2 emissions from wood burning, we are at a turning point in the use of this resource. If the forest is not used sustainably, we not only lose CO2 sinks, but also endanger air quality and the climate. Therefore, it is time for us to rethink our strategies and uses and come up with sustainable solutions in the long term.

It remains to be seen how developments will continue and whether concerns about wood burning will prevail. The voice of the voting community in Stade, which supports the power plant, will certainly have to be followed in order to find the balance between energy needs and climate protection.

This provides further information and background information daily newspaper, the WWF as well as that Federal Environment Agency.