|
|
|
| Bioenergy topics: Improving the estimates of bioenergy’s impact on emissions
Such uncertainty must be reduced in order to ensure a maximum contribution from bioenergy to national efforts to reduce emissions and fend off climate change. It would also assist in forming a global approach to climate change in forums such as this month’s UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. Overall, using biomass to produce electricity and heat can generate greater greenhouse-gas savings than using crops or other organic material to produce transport fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel: burning biomass instead of coal or oil in generation plants offers significant reduction potentials. Working with biogas offers extra benefits. Trapping and burning the gas given off by organic waste not only replaces the use of fossil fuels but also avoids the release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, during decomposition. One key factor remains valid, however, whatever technology or application is used: using high-carbon content land to grow biomass feedstock will eliminate any potential greenhouse-gas reduction because of the deleterious effect such a change will have on the soil. Replacing certain types of land, such as virgin rainforest or peatland, the overall impact will end up being negative in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions.
| | Back to menu of articles | | Leggi le notizie in italiano |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|