Abstract
Life cycle analysis on wood-based panels in terms of CO2 flux can be used to quantitatively assess the climate change contributions of these materials. In this study, the annual CO2 flux between 1990 and 2015 was calculated through gate-to-gate life cycle analysis of wood-based panels. As implied by the energy consumption standards, China’s wood-based panels used to be carbon sources during the period 1990–2007, with the average contribution to CO2 emissions of 9.20 Mt/year. The implementation of new standards and the development of Cleaner production technologies in China, decreased the energy consumption per panel. China’s wood-based panels acted as a carbon sink between 2008 and 2015, with the average contribution to CO2 removal of 31.71 Mt/year. Plywood produced the largest contributions to the emission and removal of CO2, and was followed by fiberboard and particleboard. China’s wood-based panels, with good prospects and strong demands projected in the future, can potentially contribute to climate change mitigation.
Highlights
The ongoing international concern for climate change has obtained increased attention from developing countries due to their rapidly growing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1]
Following the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties, carbon accounting of harvested wood product (HWP) is confined to products in use, where the wood was derived from domestic harvest [48]
As a pillar of the forestry industry, the production and use of wood-based panels in China have a significant impact on the contribution of GHGs
Summary
The ongoing international concern for climate change has obtained increased attention from developing countries due to their rapidly growing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1]. China has committed to a 40%–45% reduction in GHG emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020 compared with 2005 and has planned to peak in carbon emission reduction by around 2030 [2]. The growing concern over the impacts of climate change has emphasized the mitigation potential of forests and forest-derived products, in terms of carbon sequestration [3]. The wood-based panel industry is an important forest-based one in China. The country is the largest wood-based panel producer worldwide, with a total output of 286.80 million m3 in
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