Does wood contain a carbon dioxide?

Question

Does wood contain a carbon dioxide?

Answer 1

A tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as it grows and uses this carbon to build its structure. When the tree falls and decays in the forest, or is processed into firewood and burned, the carbon is released again to the atmosphere.

Answer 2

Sort of.

When you burn wood, carbon dioxide is released.  Combustion of wood involves the oxidation of cellulose, creating CO2.

However, despite the release of CO2, if you are concerned about greenhouse gases, burning wood is superior to burning oil.  The reason is that the tree you burn was planted only a few decades ago and another one will most likely be growing in its place to take up more CO2.  However, when we burn fossil fuels, the carbon embodied in them was fixed from the atmosphere millions of years ago and that quantity of oil/coal is not being replaced on the same time scale as we use it.