Replacing concrete and steel with mass timber in buildings could significantly reduce global carbon emissions and spur the expansion of intensively managed forests, a new study by Yale School of the Environment research scientists found. Published in Nature Communications, the study offers a comprehensive global analysis of how the widespread use of engineered wood products like cross-laminated timber (CLT) could reshape land use and impact carbon storage through the end of the century. The research team modeled three future adoption scenarios and found that switching to CLT in 30% to 60% of new urban buildings from 2020 to 2100 could reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 25.6 to 39 gigatons of CO₂ equivalent, which is roughly equal to total annual global energy-related CO₂ emissions, which reached around 37.8 gigatons in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. It could also expand productive forestland globally by as much as 36.5 million hectares — an area roughly the size of Germany— by 2100.