Horyu-ji Temple is the world's oldest surviving wooden building.

法隆寺是世界上現存最古老的木製建築。

Five storeys high, it's still standing firm

五層樓高，它仍然堅挺。

despite being made from cypress trees felled over 1,400 years ago.

儘管是由1400多年前砍伐的柏樹製成。

And Horyu's great age reveals a message for our future -

Horyu的偉大時代揭示了對我們未來的啟示 --

building with timber can be durable, beautiful and practical

用木材建造的建築可以是耐用的、美麗的和實用的

and it can even help tackle climate change.

而且它甚至可以幫助解決氣候變化問題。

Here's why.

原因就在這裡。

If we made 90% of our new buildings from wood

如果我們90%的新建築是由木材製成的

rather than concrete and steel

而不是混凝土和鋼鐵

we could reduce our global carbon emissions by 4%.

我們可以將我們的全球碳排放量減少4%。

That's more than the total climate footprint of flying.

這比飛行的總氣候足跡還多。

So why does building with wood do such good?

那麼，為什麼用木材建造會有這樣的好處呢？

First, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow.

首先，樹木在生長過程中從空氣中吸收二氧化碳。

This is naturally stored in the beams and panels of buildings,

這是在建築物的梁和板中自然儲存的。

a process known as carbon capture.

一個被稱為碳捕獲的過程。

So the timber in Horyu Temple

是以，法隆寺的木材

contains CO2 absorbed from the planet's atmosphere

包含從地球大氣中吸收的二氧化碳

in the 7th Century.

在7世紀。

Of course, using wood means felling trees,

當然，使用木材意味著砍伐樹木。

but so long as you're not chopping down ancient forests,

但只要你不砍伐古代森林就可以了。

you're maintaining the wildlife, replanting,

你在維護野生動物，重新栽種。

and putting wood to long-term use, it's sustainable.

並將木材用於長期使用，是可持續的。

In the last 15 years, in the northern Hemisphere

在過去15年裡，在北半球

total forest cover has increased by an area of around 242,000 sq km,

森林總覆蓋面積增加了約242,000平方公里。

about the size of the United Kingdom.

大約相當於英國的面積。

In fact, every seven seconds the sustainable woodlands of Europe

事實上，每七秒鐘，歐洲的可持續發展林地

yield enough timber to build a four-person family home.

產量足夠建造一個四人家庭住宅的木材。

And it's not just Europe -

而且這不僅僅是歐洲 -

Canada can harvest enough trees every year to house about a billion people.

加拿大每年可以收穫足夠的樹木來容納大約10億人。

An equally important carbon reduction comes from what you're not using -

同樣重要的碳減排來自於你不使用的東西--

construction with natural materials demands far less concrete and steel

使用天然材料的建築對混凝土和鋼筋的需求大大減少

and these are massive climate culprits.

而這些都是大規模的氣候罪魁禍首。

Steel-making accounts for around 8% of total global CO2 emissions

鍊鋼約佔全球二氧化碳總排放量的8%。

and cement accounts for a further 6%.

而水泥又佔了6%。

OK, not all of this is going into buildings,

好吧，並不是所有這些都要進入建築物。

but they are a big customer.

但他們是一個大客戶。

It's the combination of stored carbon and avoided emissions

它是儲存的碳和避免的排放的組合

that really tips the climate scales for timber,

這對木材來說是真正的氣候天平。

and a recent innovation has made wood much more user-friendly.

而最近的一項創新使木材變得更加便於使用。

CLT, or cross-laminated timber,

CLT，即交叉層壓木材。

is made by layering conifer planks at 90 degrees to each other

是通過將針葉木板以90度的角度分層製成的。

in three to seven tiers and then gluing them together

分為三到七層，然後把它們粘在一起

producing a kind of chunky plywood.

生產一種矮胖的膠合板。

These panels are suitable for walls, floors, roofs, even lift shafts.

這些面板適用於牆壁、地板、屋頂，甚至電梯井。

and their strength-to-weight ratio is often better than concrete.

而且它們的強度-重量比通常比混凝土好。

CLT can be used in schools, offices and warehouses

CLT可用於學校、辦公室和倉庫

and now there's a race to the sky

而現在，有一場通往天空的比賽

with 85m 'plyscrapers' recently completed

最近完成了85米的 "plyscrapers"。

in Austria and Norway.

在奧地利和挪威。

So why are wooden buildings still the exception?

那麼，為什麼木製建築仍然是個例外呢？

Mainstream construction is a risk-averse industry

主流建築業是一個規避風險的行業

and changing this takes radical action.

而改變這一點需要激進的行動。

One approach is law - the French government has decreed

一種方法是法律--法國政府已經頒佈了法令

that at least 50% of every new public building must be made of wood.

每個新的公共建築中至少有50%必須由木材製成。

This not only allows those structures to store more carbon

這不僅使這些結構能夠儲存更多的碳

but also encourages a generation of builders

但也鼓勵了一代建設者

to learn a timber-friendly skillset.

以學習對木材有利的技能組合。

But how safe are wooden buildings, you may ask?

但你可能會問，木製建築的安全性如何？

Remembering the Great Fire

紀念大火

that gutted the medieval centre of London in 1666?

1666年，倫敦的中世紀中心被燒燬？

In fact, tests of CLT panels in a blaze

事實上，CLT板在烈火中的測試

have shown they tend to form a charcoal layer

已表明它們往往會形成一個木炭層

that protects the core

保護核心的

and when combined with heat-resistant glues and claddings

並與耐熱膠水和覆蓋物結合使用時

they can match or exceed the fire resilience of conventional buildings.

它們可以匹配或超過傳統建築的防火能力。

There are other benefits too.

也有其他好處。

Studies suggest that wooden schools

研究表明，木製學校

can actually lower the heart rate of pupils.

實際上可以降低學生的心率。

Even looking at a wooden wall can reduce blood pressure.

即使是看著一堵木牆也能降低血壓。

So wood is not only renewable, safe and climate-friendly,

是以，木材不僅是可再生的，而且是安全的和氣候友好的。

it can also make you feel good.

它也能讓你感覺良好。

Or to put it another way, using wood is really good.

或者換一種說法，使用木材真的很好。