This data-file quantifies global wood production, country-by-country, category-by-category, back to 1960, using granular data from the FAO. 4bn m3 of wood is harvested per year (2GTpa by mass). There is a read-across for how commodities peak. And major upside for LNG.
Global wood consumption has been quantified by the FAO at over 4bn m3 in 2024, declining by -0.3% from an all-time high in 2022, having previously risen at a 20-year CAGR of 0.7% per year.
The split is that 50% is used as fuel, 20% as paper/pulp and 30% as longer-lasting materials which may help remove CO2 from atmospheric circulation.
Fuel wood consumption has been quantified at 2bn m3 in 2024, equivalent to 1GTpa of dry wood, around 4,500 TWH of primary energy.
Wood consumption for fuel varies greatly by economic development levels. 85% of all wood burning for fuel occurs in the emerging world, of which 35% is Africa, c15% is India. Africa and India use 90% of their wood as fuel. The US and Europe use 20%.
Wood consumption for fuel tends to fall as countries industrialize. As Indonesia industrialized, wood use as fuel fell from 80% of all primary energy in the 1960s to 2% in 2024.
Overall, wood energy has declined from 10% of the world’s primary energy mix in 1960 to c3% today. However, it remains stubbornly high in less developed countries (e.g., 22% in Africa, 6% in India, data below).
Deforestation remains the largest source of CO2 emissions globally, and the data suggest shortages of oil, gas and coal could exacerbate this ecological disaster. If coal, oil and gas prices all treble, then by extension, the relative value of wood-based fuels approximately trebles too (note here).
The world’s ongoing use of wood fuel, at 4,500 TWH pa, is equivalent to 15TCF pa of gas, or 300MTpa of LNG. Hence we continue to see vast long-term upside for gas simply substituting out low-quality heating fuels.
To read more about the global wood harvest and production, please see our article here. We think the CO2 credentials of wood in the energy transition range from -2.0 tons/ton to +2.0 tons/ton, depending heavily on context, but also creating opportunities (note here).