Wood Smoke and Climate Change:
An Inconvenient Truth

Some people choose to burn wood in the misguided belief that it is somehow “better” for the environment because it isn’t a fossil fuel. Some people even believe that it doesn’t contribute to climate change.

They might be surprised to learn that to produce the same amount of heat or energy, burning wood releases more CO2 than coal.

To make matters worse, scientists have discovered that particles created by burning wood and other biomass—so called “black carbon”—are also a major contributor to climate change. The Nobel Prize-winning International Global Panel on Climate Change has stated that black carbon is a significant cause of global warming. Scientists estimate that the black carbon produced by wood burning is the second most significant contributor to global warming after CO2.

Black carbon particles in the atmosphere absorb solar heat. This not only heats the atmosphere, but also melts the earth’s snowcaps and glaciers when these particles settle on the ground.

Many scientists now believe reducing or eliminating wood and other biomass burning to be one of the easiest and most effective ways for us to counter climate change.