What’s the value of slowing down climate change through biogenic carbon storage?

Plants and trees absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere during their growth. That C, from carbon, remains stored until the material is degraded again into CO₂. This also applies when the plant or tree is used as, for example, a beam or an insulation panel in a house. This storage can last many decades during which we can develop solutions for CO₂ emissions. “Not to pass on the emissions problem to future generations,” Van den Oever emphasizes, “but to create more time to develop solutions to reduce emissions or methods to remove CO₂ from the air. And we need to make good use of that time, because we are still far from net zero CO₂ emissions.”

Valuation formula long-term storage of biogenic carbon

So long-term storage has a value. However, this is currently not included in the Dutch Determination Method for the Environmental Impact of Buildings. That is why the NMD Foundation (Netherlands Environmental Database Foundation) has asked WUR to develop a proposal for a valuation formula that fits within the current framework of that method. Not an easy job, because there are countless, sometimes very complicated formulas in circulation.

Van den Oever: “A lot of very good scientific work has already been done. This has resulted in solid formulas. However, these are sometimes very difficult to understand and therefore difficult to integrate into current policies. That is why we have converted this into a simple formula that is more applicable.” This simplifies the valuation of biogenic carbon storage of various (building) materials for all parties in the value chain. “And the great thing is, this formula works on all materials, including fossil-based materials. However, it is fair to say that fossil materials mainly emit CO₂ during their production and have not recently absorbed any CO₂ from the atmosphere.”

Time horizon of 100 years

The simple formula contains a so-called ‘time horizon’, the period over which climate change is considered; this must be determined by policy. The scientists have chosen a time horizon of 100 years. Van den Oever explains why: “This period is in line with the period that is usual for determining the global warming potential in LCA analyses. In addition, you want a period that is long enough so that no problems are passed on to next generations while short enough to encourage action.”

Lower CO₂ emissions and less environmental impact

The benefits of long-term biogenic carbon storage in building materials made from biomass are in addition to other benefits. Initial results from research suggest that biobased houses also have lower CO₂ emissions and less environmental impact than a traditional concrete or sand-lime brick house.

This project received co-funding from TKI Agri-Food under project code LWV 20.289.

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