More timber houses in Germany: New strategy adopted

June 23, 2023

Abstract : By 2030, significantly more houses in Germany are to be built with timber instead of concrete or stone. On Wednesday, the German cabinet approved an initiative to promote the use of the renewable raw material in the construction and addition of floors to buildings.

Caption: By 2030, significantly more houses in Germany are to be built with timber instead of concrete or stone. (picture alliance/dpa | Silas Stein)

By 2030, significantly more houses in Germany are to be built with timber instead of concrete or stone. On Wednesday, the German cabinet approved an initiative to promote the use of the renewable raw material in the construction and addition of floors to buildings.

Wood is considered climate-friendly because trees store carbon dioxide as they grow, which remains permanently bound in the wood used. In addition, the government argues that it is a domestic raw material without long transport routes. It is also well suited for serial and thus cheaper construction.

The government's timber initiative is to be based mainly on indirect support. One of the eight fields of action mentioned is that the federal government itself should build more with wood as a role model. Research, innovation, knowledge, and skilled workers are to be secured, as is the supply of raw materials. The government also wants to remove obstacles to timber construction and create equal competitive opportunities with other building materials. To implement this, Construction Minister Klara Geywitz, of the Social Democrats (SPD) and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) want to hold regular talks with the states and associations starting in October.

The Main Association of the German Timber Industry welcomed the initiative, stressing that "the federal government, as a public-sector client, has many as yet untapped opportunities to jump-start the urgently needed growth of timber construction in still underdeveloped sectors such as multi-storey building construction." There was criticism from the opposition CDU. "In the timber construction initiative, the governing coalition lacks a coherent overall concept," said CDU Member of the Bundestag Hermann Färber.

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