Study shows CO2 emission from biofuels might exceed fossil fuels

In a new study, led by an expert team from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), it has been revealed that emissions from biofuels might exceed those of fossil fuel combustion. This is due to large-scale land clearing related to growing biomass.

Before bioenergy can contribute towards climate-related goals, the team has argued that international agreements must ensure the protection of forests and other natural lands by introducing carbon pricing.

The study, ‘Bioenergy-induced land-use-change emissions with sectorally fragmented policies,’ is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The indirect effects of bioenergy use are a challenge for policymakers. This is because food an bioenergy markets are globally connected but beyond the control of individual national policies.

The regulatory gap in the land-use sector keeps the bioenergy supply cheap.

However, this gap is also pushing the energy sector to phase out fossil fuels even faster to compensate for land-use change. This spiral increases the demand for bioenergy.

The team found that it is not the price itself that is crucial, but the comprehensiveness to cover near 100% of all forests and other natural lands.

Pricing all emissions from biofuels with only 20% of the CO2 price in the energy system is more effective than a protection scheme covering 90% of all forests globally.

The team concluded that the protection of carbon stored in existing forests should be placed high on the international policy agenda as fossil fuel phase-out progresses and regulations in the land-use sector lag behind.