Applying a science-based systems perspective to dispel misconceptions about climate effects of forest bioenergy
Cowie, Annette L.; Berndes, Göran; Bentsen, Niclas Scott; Brandão, Miguel; Cherubini, Francesco; Egnell, Gustaf; George, Brendan; Gustavsson, Leif; Hanewinkel, Marc; Harris, Zoe M.; Johnsson, Filip; Junginger, Martin; Kline, Keith L.; Koponen, Kati; Koppejan, Jaap; Kraxner, Florian; Lamers, Patrick; Majer, Stefan; Marland, Eric; Nabuurs, Gert Jan; Pelkmans, Luc; Sathre, Roger; Schaub, Marcus; Smith, Charles Tattersall; Soimakallio, Sampo; Van Der Hilst, Floor; Woods, Jeremy; Ximenes, Fabiano A.
(2021) GCB Bioenergy, volume 13, issue 8, pp. 1210 - 1231
(Article)
Abstract
The scientific literature contains contrasting findings about the climate effects of forest bioenergy, partly due to the wide diversity of bioenergy systems and associated contexts, but also due to differences in assessment methods. The climate effects of bioenergy must be accurately assessed to inform policy-making, but the complexity of bioenergy
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systems and associated land, industry and energy systems raises challenges for assessment. We examine misconceptions about climate effects of forest bioenergy and discuss important considerations in assessing these effects and devising measures to incentivize sustainable bioenergy as a component of climate policy. The temporal and spatial system boundary and the reference (counterfactual) scenarios are key methodology choices that strongly influence results. Focussing on carbon balances of individual forest stands and comparing emissions at the point of combustion neglect system-level interactions that influence the climate effects of forest bioenergy. We highlight the need for a systems approach, in assessing options and developing policy for forest bioenergy that: (1) considers the whole life cycle of bioenergy systems, including effects of the associated forest management and harvesting on landscape carbon balances; (2) identifies how forest bioenergy can best be deployed to support energy system transformation required to achieve climate goals; and (3) incentivizes those forest bioenergy systems that augment the mitigation value of the forest sector as a whole. Emphasis on short-term emissions reduction targets can lead to decisions that make medium- to long-term climate goals more difficult to achieve. The most important climate change mitigation measure is the transformation of energy, industry and transport systems so that fossil carbon remains underground. Narrow perspectives obscure the significant role that bioenergy can play by displacing fossil fuels now, and supporting energy system transition. Greater transparency and consistency is needed in greenhouse gas reporting and accounting related to bioenergy.
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Keywords: energy system transition, forest carbon stock, forest management, greenhouse gas accounting, landscape scale, reference system, Forestry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Agronomy and Crop Science, Waste Management and Disposal
ISSN: 1757-1693
Publisher: Wiley-VCH Verlag
Note: Funding Information: This paper is an output of the IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme Task 45 ‘Climate and Sustainability Effects of Bioenergy within the broader Bioeconomy’. We thank Gregg Marland for constructive suggestions. Sampo Soimakallio's contribution to this paper is funded by Kone Foundation. Keith Kline's (ORNL) and Patrick Lamers' (NREL) contributions were sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). Keith Kline's research is supported by DOE BETO under award number EE0007088 to ORNL. ORNL is managed by the UT‐Battelle, LLC, for DOE under contract DE‐AC05‐00OR22725. NREL is managed by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for DOE under contract DEAC36‐08GO28308. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. Funding Information: This manuscript is co‐authored by employees (Keith L. Kline and Patrick Lamers) of the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, the manager and operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE‐AC36‐08GO28308 and UT‐Battelle, LLC, the manager and operator of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract DE‐AC05‐00OR22725 with US DOE. By accepting the article for publication, the publisher acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid‐up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe‐public‐access‐plan ). Funding Information: This paper is an output of the IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme Task 45 ?Climate and Sustainability Effects of Bioenergy within the broader Bioeconomy?. We thank Gregg Marland for constructive suggestions. Sampo Soimakallio's contribution to this paper is funded by Kone Foundation. Keith Kline's (ORNL) and Patrick Lamers' (NREL) contributions were sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). Keith Kline's research is supported by DOE BETO under award number EE0007088 to ORNL. ORNL is managed by the UT-Battelle, LLC, for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. NREL is managed by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for DOE under contract DEAC36-08GO28308. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. GCB Bioenergy Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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