Timber frame builder Dr Michael Benfield says radical changes need to be made in Britain’s construction industry if the government is to reach its new target for CO2 emissions.

Mr Benfield, managing director of Caldicot-based Benfield ATT, has issued a press statement claiming the UK has not yet grasped the positive effect timber-based building can have on global warming.

His comments were in response to last month’s pledge by environment secretary Margaret Beckett and energy minister Stephen Timms to cut carbon emissions by an extra 12 million tonnes through energy efficiency during the next six years.

Mr Benfield said: “As builders, we have a moral obligation to provide high-quality timber frame homes that will increase the quality of life and influence impact on the environment for generations to come.

&#8220As builders, we have a moral obligation to provide high-quality timber frame homes that will increase the quality of life and influence impact on the environment for generations to come”

Dr Michael Benfield, managing director ATT Benfield

“Wood could easily be used as a substitute for other high embodied energy materials such as steel, concrete or traditionally used brick and block, and also provide low energy-in-use housing, thus reducing energy emissions from buildings still further.”

Charles Trevor, managing director of wood. for good, said the government’s target was realistic as only two-thirds of Europe’s annual forest growth is harvested – adding some 802,000ha annually to the region’s carbon sink.