Research

An increased use of wood in construction is seen to contribute to a needed reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for climate change mitigation. Although Austria can be seen as a frontrunner in and supporter of wood construction in the recent decades, there are still significant legal, structural, financial and technical challenges for the use of wood in a circular bio-economy. The European Green Deal strongly supports this goal, however, the implications are difficult to assess since sustainable wood construction is a cross-cutting field, the development and implementation of specific measures are still in the making and need to be coordinated across different policy sectors with different goals and preferences. The project aims to assess the potential impacts of the new regulations on the forests and forest-based value chains and to identify purposeful instruments for policy implementation. The project therefore aims to i) analyse the relevant EU policies and their implications for a biobased circular wood construction in Austria, ii) analyse the institutional frame for wood construction in Austria and specific support mechanisms for the use of wood in construction, iii) compare the frame conditions and support measures across selected European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Finland) and iv) analyse barriers and fostering factors and derive recommendations and instruments for Austria. This is intended to support policy development and coordination on national and European levels and to support the role of Austria as a leading country in the use of wood and in developing a circular bioeconomy.

Adequate habitation is an essential human right required for wellbeing, while also constituting a major source of GHG emissions during construction, heating and cooling. Furthermore, the spatial patterns of buildings and settlements shape mobility requirements. Contemporary forms of habitation are highly climate relevant as housing and passenger mobility directly contribute 40% of Austria’s greenhouse gas emissions, with further indirect emissions from industry and energy supply. Rising costs of these necessities have had negative social effects, such as an increased risk of poverty (SDG 1) and of rising inequalities (SDG 10). These effects further contribute to already prevalent resistance against progressive climate policies, because rising costs of habitation have severely limited Austria’s opportunity space to achieve climate neutrality by 2040, leading to societal resistance against and delays in climate policies, often due to a prioritisation of short-term goals and the rising popularity of right-wing parties opposing climate measures. The interlinkages between these existential crises demonstrate the need for holistic perspectives that integrate socio-economic and environmental concerns. To address social concerns, various income compensation measures, such as the “climate bonus” and financial support schemes during the cost-of-living crisis, have been prioritised in Austrian policy interventions. While these measures play a vital role in a rich climate policy toolkit, they forego the opportunity for more profound transformations of provisioning systems to transform consumption and production towards sustainable pathways. Against this backdrop, HABITATION-CORRIDORS explores sufficiency-oriented eco-social policy and planning instruments related to housing (including related energy use) and induced mobility (summarised as “habitation”). It draws inspiration from the concept of “corridors,” which has gained recognition, notably in the latest IPCC report. Corridors provide a framework to implement sufficiency, defining minimum standards for a good life (such as guaranteed living space, energy access, and mobility) and maximum limits on the use of natural and social resources. The goal is to move beyond mere income stabilisation and break down the dualism between climate and social policies, where the latter merely “compensates” for the negative social impacts of the former. Corridors serve as cornerstones for an integrated eco-social approach to living well within planetary boundaries. Developing habitation corridors is critical, not only because (a lack of) essential goods/services directly affects well-being and societal acceptance of climate policies but also because contemporary habitation is emission and resource intensive, meriting a deeper discussion on maximum limits.

The building materials industry faces major challenges in terms of the energy, emissions and resource savings required to achieve the climate targets. Measures to replace fossil fuels in the resource- and energy-intensive construction sector are not enough to achieve comprehensive decarbonisation. The long-term material use of wood in buildings is a building block for achieving climate neutrality in the building sector and it has been shown that timber construction can be a measure to mitigate climate change. An increase from the current 22% to 50% wood (residential) construction (Wood Construction Share) would require an additional wood input into the construction industry of 0.5 million m3 or up to 1 million m3 per year in a scenario with high wood utilisation in order to cover the increasing demand if no measures are taken to extend the service life of buildings and increase recycling. At the same time, the amount of waste wood from deconstruction will increase in the coming decades and therefore represents a growing potential for reuse and recycling from 2050 onwards if various technical, economic and regulatory obstacles can be overcome. Current political strategies and measures in terms of climate protection reinforce the need for innovations along the entire product life cycle and the value chain in the construction sector in order to realise the potential of the recyclability of construction products. Specifically