A report by the Stockholm Energy Institute (SEI) explores options for biomass use in a low-carbon economy, analyzing future scenarios driven variously by market forces, curbing emissions and increasing food production.
Policy and business recommendations are also made.
22 March 2012: A report by the Stockholm Environmental Insitute (SEI), titled “Biomass in a Low-Carbon Economy: Resource Scarcity, Climate Change, and Business in a Finite World,” assesses the availability of biomass as a source for renewable low-carbon energy and other applications, and analyzes the potential for larger-scale biomass use in the context of sustainability.
The report describes how biomass production is constrained by: land and water availability; the ability of soils to produce it; the necessity of recycling some biomass back to the soil to sustain nutrients and moisture levels; competing uses; and the need to reduce carbon emissions. It then explores four scenarios, each implying different demands for biomass use and involving different drivers, including: market forces; curbing emissions; increasing food production; and biomass for food, energy, industrial materials and more.
The report notes that all scenarios involve trade-offs, but that a “Sustainability Transition” approach, combining “the climate agenda with an agenda to feed the planet,” could yield significant benefits, including business innovation and economic growth.
The report concludes with policy considerations for policy-makers and business leaders, including that: the amount and demand for biomass resources remains uncertain but will be shaped by policy choices; using biomass to fight climate change in the short term will increase pressure on already stressed resources; a bio-based economy faces significant coordination problems; and that a globally coordinated, public and private research programme is needed to improve both crop yields and socio-economic aspects of biomass use.
SEI is an Associate Member of the Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development (GNESD), a UNEP-facilitated knowledge network on energy, development, and environment issues. The report was produced through a partnership between SEI and Combat Climate Change (3C). [Biomass in a Low-Carbon Economy: Resource Scarcity, Climate Change, and Business in a Finite World] [Policy Brief]