02 February 2011, Biodiversity
and Land Use, JRC - IES
Within the JRC's Thematic Programme on Biofuels,
involving its Institute for Environment
and Sustainability (IES) and that for Energy
(IE), a topical report was published in
August 2010.
It uses a new methodology
to estimate changes in global greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions from soil and biomass
as a result of land being converted to biofuels
production. It finds figures significantly
higher than those of other studies in terms
of the related GHG emissions in 2020. The
report was lively discussed at a stakeholders’
conference held in Brussels in October 2010,
attended by farmers' associations, industry
and political as well as environmental groups
from all over the world. It received wide
press coverage and had notable political
impact by underpinning the Commission Report
of December 2010 on indirect land-use change
from biofuels and bio-liquids. This achievement
was possible, because earlier in 2010, a
JRC Scientific Reference Report defined
the background guidelines for the calculation
of land carbon stocks in the Biofuels Sustainability
Scheme.
Another JRC Reference
Report, focusing on ships emissions, has
been published in December 2010. It provides
the first comprehensive overview of methodologies
for estimating air emissions from shipping,
describes technological solutions and analyses
policy options for reducing carbon emissions
and air pollution in this sector.
Maritime transport causes
about 4% of global man-made CO2 emissions,
which makes its carbon footprint approximately
as high as Germany's. There is no regulation
of international maritime transport emissions
yet, but this is currently under discussion
in the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) and at the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Moreover,
the shipping sector is a source of air pollution.
Unless measures are taken, air pollution
over the main shipping routes will increase
due to an estimated 10-20% rise in sulphur
dioxide emissions in the next two years.
The new Reference Report contributes to
raising awareness of the environmental impacts,
including on health, of world-wide shipping.
It analyses the methodological issues raised
within the scientific community about assessing
the impacts of the maritime sector on the
environment, and identifies shortcomings
in reliable and comprehensive sources of
information. A detailed assessment of the
cost efficiency and abatement potential
of each technological option described in
the report is also provided. In order to
achieve significant improvements in the
reduction of carbon emissions and air pollution,
technological (fuel- and engine-related)
solutions should be supplemented with other
measures. Market-based options addressing
both regional and global measures must also
be investigated. The report analyses how
the introduction of market-based policies,
such as a GHG Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)
for the shipping sector at international
level, could be used.
The new report shows
the role of the JRC-IES in underpinning
political progress towards the EU's Innovation
Union and Europe 2020 goals.
Download: JRC Reference
Report - F. Carré, R. Hiederer, V.
Blujdea and R. Koeble (2010) Background
Guide for the Calculation of Land Carbon
Stocks in the Biofuels Sustainability Scheme
Drawing on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for
National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. EUR
24573 EN. Luxembourg: Publications Office
of the European Union
JRC Scientific and Technical
Report - R. Hiederer, F. Ramos, C. Capitani,
R. Koeble, V. Blujdea, D. Mulligan, L. Marelli
and O. Gomez (2010) Biofuels: a New Methodology
to Estimate GHG Emissions Due to Global
Land Use Change. EUR 24483 EN. Luxembourg:
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC Reference Report
- A. Miola, B. Ciuffo, E. Giovine and M.
Marra (2010) Regulating Air Emissions from
Ships - The State of the Art on Methodologies,
Technologies and Policy Options. EUR 24602
EN. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the
European Union
+ More
Weaker carbon sink capacity
of forests undermines the majority of climate
benefits from forest energy
02 February 2011, Soils, Forests and Agriculture,
SYKE
If forest energy production
is increased as planned by the Government,
the carbon sink capacity of Finnish forests
will suffer. A weaker carbon sink capacity
will cut actual reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions achievable through forest
energy in Finland by 60-80 per cent by 2020.
A study commissioned by the Ministry of
the Environment from the Finnish Environment
Institute, published today, examines the
climate impacts of, and particulate matter
emissions attributable to, rapidly increasing
forest energy production.
Photo: Erkki Oksanen/Finnish
Forest Research InstituteThe aim of using
wood as a source of energy is to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions from energy production
and to increase the proportion of renewable
sources. The quantity of wood biomass harvested
from Finnish forests for energy production
has increased to five million cubic metres
in the 2000s, and according to the Government’s
bioenergy policy, will be increased further
to 13.5 million cubic metres by 2020.
Wood can replace fossil
fuels and reduce emissions from them, but
the harvesting of wood biomass from forests
simultaneously weakens their carbon sink
capacity.
Carbon sink changes
are insufficiently accounted for in many
calculations used in climate policy, which
can easily lead to the climate benefits
achieved through forest energy being overstated.
The weaker carbon sink
capacity of forests diminishes emission
reductions
According to the study, the increase in
forest energy production will lower the
annual carbon sink capacity of Finnish forests
by 6.2 million tonnes of CO2 by 2020. Tree
biomass will remain as carbon sink but the
soil will transform from carbon sink to
carbon source and its carbon reserves will
begin to dwindle.
The forest energy produced
can replace an estimated 10.7 million tonnes
of carbon dioxide emissions from coal, 8.7
million tonnes from heating oil or 7.6 million
tonnes from natural gas. Taking into account
both emissions and changes to the carbon
sink, Finland’s net emissions to the atmosphere
will decrease by 1.4 – 4.5 million carbon
dioxide tonnes, depending on the fossil
fuel replaced. Hence the difference between
fossil fuel emission reductions achieved
through forest energy, and actual net reductions
in emissions, is significant.
- Forest energy is not
as low in emissions as is generally assumed.
Harvesting of wood from forests reduces
the quantity of atmospheric carbon accumulated
in forests, even though growing forests
do take up carbon from the atmosphere. Logging
residue, such as branches, wood from first
thinnings and tree stumps, would store coal
for a long time if left to rot in the forest.
The climate benefit achieved by carbon storage
is similar to that of, for instance, long
lasting products made of wood, explains
Leading Researcher Jari Liski of the Finnish
Environment Institute.
Forest energy emissions
reduce with time
Emissions due to the reduction of carbon
reserves in forests are highest when the
use of forest energy commences or the quantity
used increases. As a result, a changeover
to forest energy is not a particularly quick
way to reduce emissions from Finland’s energy
production. If the aim is to reduce emissions
quickly to a level sufficient to tackle
climate change (for instance to the warming
by two degrees as outlined at the Cancun
climate conference) energy production emissions
must be reduced in other, faster ways in
addition to a shift to forest energy.
If tree biomass, such
as branches and wood from first thinnings,
that forms the most short-lived carbon storage
in forests and rots the fastest, is used
for energy production, forest energy emissions
would remain significantly lower as production
continues. Emissions from tree stumps used
as sources of energy would remain high for
decades, however, because if left in the
forest, they would have decayed slowly and
stored carbon for a long time. If the energy
use of tree stumps is increased in line
with the Government’s bioenergy policy,
by 2020 it will result in emissions as high
as those from producing the same amount
of energy using oil in Finland. Then, emissions
from the energy use of branches will be
up to 50 per cent lower.
Hence, emissions from
forest energy can be substantially reduced
by targeting production at those parts of
trees with more advantageous climate impacts,
such as branches and wood from first thinnings.
If, however, high production targets for
bioenergy are set, the use of less advantageous
tree stumps may be necessary in order to
achieve them. This will undermine the overall
impact of forest energy on climate change.
Climate policy calculation
formulae overestimate the climate benefits
of forest energy Many calculation formulae
for emissions, used in climate policy, do
not take sufficient account of the impact
of forest energy on the carbon sink of forests,
while reductions in fossil fuel emissions
achievable through the use of renewable
wood are accounted for in full. For instance,
Finland’s emissions calculated on the basis
of the Kyoto Protocol do not include any
adjustment for changes in the carbon sink
of forests caused by the use of wood as
an energy source. The European Union’s calculation
formulae for biofuels only take account
of changes in carbon sinks where the production
of biomass transforms forest into another
form of land use. By contrast with these
calculation formulae, the annual greenhouse
gas inventory conducted under the UN Climate
Convention, which is not applicable to obligatory
emission restrictions, takes full account
of forest energy impacts on the carbon sink
of forests. This inventory can be compared
to other calculation formulae.
Because changes in the
capacity of forests to act as carbon sinks
is not adequately accounted for, many climate
policy calculation formulae overestimate
actual emission reductions and climate benefits
achievable through forest energy. As a result,
the emission figures used in climate policy
for forest energy are not always comparable
with the emission levels used in climate
research.
