1. Effects of Wood Product Utilization on Climate Change Mitigation in South Korea
- Author
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Eun-Kyung Jang and Yeo-Chang Youn
- Subjects
020209 energy ,Geography, Planning and Development ,TJ807-830 ,02 engineering and technology ,010501 environmental sciences ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,TD194-195 ,01 natural sciences ,Renewable energy sources ,climate change mitigation ,carbon accounting method ,harvested wood products ,Environmental protection ,Tier 2 network ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Resource management ,GE1-350 ,Greenhouse gas accounting ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Sustainable development ,Accounting method ,Carbon accounting ,Environmental effects of industries and plants ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,carbon inventory ,Environmental sciences ,Climate change mitigation ,Greenhouse gas ,Environmental science - Abstract
Many countries, including South Korea, decided to suspend the inclusion of harvested wood products in their Nationally Determined Contributions, as part of the carbon inventory, in 2016. The inclusion of harvested wood products in the national greenhouse gases inventory must ensure the accuracy of carbon accounting and its conformity with the policy direction. The method used for harvested wood product carbon accounting can influence the accuracy of carbon account value, as well as policy direction based on greenhouse gas accounting. This research evaluated the utilization of domestic wood resources in South Korea in terms of carbon storage impacts from the perspective of the cascading use of wood products. The study also compared the two accounting methods (Tier 2 and Tier 3) of carbon storage for the period from 1970 to 2080, assuming the current pattern of wood resource utilization for the next sixty years. The results show that the current utilization of domestic wood resources is inefficient in terms of climate change mitigation. The analysis shows that there is a significant difference between the Tier 2 and Tier 3 methods in carbon storage effects, and the amount of harvested wood products carbon stock calculated by the Tier 2 method was found to be approximately double that of Tier 3. This result implies that there is a possibility of overestimating the carbon storage of harvested wood products when using the Tier 2 method in the case of net timber-importing countries, such as South Korea. The study can provide guidance for designing timber resource management from the perspective of the cascading use of wood products in order to contribute to sustainable development goals, including climate change mitigation.
- Published
- 2021