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Title: The role of bioenergy in a climate-changing world

Abstract

Bioenergy has been under intense scrutiny over the last ten years with significant research efforts in many countries taking place to define and measure sustainable practices. We describe here the main challenges and policy issues, and provide policy recommendations for scaling up sustainable bioenergy approaches globally. The 2016 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) will not reach even global Green House Gas (GHG) emission targets of 2oC. Sustainable biomass production can make a significant contribution. Substantive evidence exists that many bioenergy cropping systems can bring multiple benefits and off-set environmental problems associated with fossil fuels, intensive food production and urbanization. We provide evidence that there are many approaches to land use for bioenergy expansion that do not lead to competition for food or other needs, We should focus on how to manage theses approaches on a synergistic basis and how to reduce tradeoffs at landscape scales. Priorities for successful synergies between bioenergy and food security include integrated resource management designed to improve both food security and access to bioenergy, investments in technology, rural extension, and innovations that build capacity and infrastructure, promotion of stable prices to incentivize local production and use of double cropping and flex crops (plants grown for bothmore » food and non-food markets) that provide food and energy as well as other services. The sustainable production of biomass requires appropriate policies to secure long-term investment for support to improve crop productivity and also to ensure environmental as well as economic and social benefits of bioenergy cropping systems, without compromising food security. Continuous support for cropping, infrastructure, agricultural management and related policies is needed to foster positive synergies between food crops and bioenergy production. In comparison to fossil fuels biofuels have many positive environmental benefits. Potential negative impacts caused by land-use change and agriculture intensification can be mitigated by agroecological zoning, best management practices, the use of eco-hydrology and biodiversity-friendly concepts at field, watershed and landscape scales. Global climate and environmental changes related to the use of fossil fuels and inequitable development make it unethical not to pursue more equitable energy development that includes bioenergy. To achieve sustainable development, competitiveness and costs of bioenergy production need to be addressed in a manner that considers not only economic gains, but also development of local knowledge and social and environmental benefits.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]; ORCiD logo [4];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [2];  [12];  [2];  [2];  [13]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Univ. de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo (Brazil)
  2. Univ. de Sao Paulo (Brazil)
  3. FAPESP and Physics Institute, Unicamp (Brazil)
  4. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  5. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
  6. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  7. The World Bank, Washington, D.C. (United States)
  8. Rothamsted Research, Herts (United Kingdom)
  9. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States)
  10. FEQ, Unicamp (Brazil)
  11. Banco Nacional do Desenvolvimento (Brazil)
  12. Delft Univ. of Technology (The Netherlands)
  13. BE-Basic (Brazil)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1389736
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1408030
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5100-68329
Journal ID: ISSN 2211-4645
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308; AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Environmental Development
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 23; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 2211-4645
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
09 BIOMASS FUELS; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; bioenergy; food security; energy security; environmental security; climate change; sustainable development; landscapes

Citation Formats

Souza, Glaucia Mendes, Ballester, Maria Victoria R., de Brito Cruz, Carlos Henrique, Chum, Helena, Dale, Bruce, Dale, Virginia H., Fernandes, Erick C. M., Foust, Thomas D., Karp, Angela, Lynd, Lee, Filho, Rubens Maciel, Milanez, Artur, Nigro, Francisco, Osseweijer, Patricia, Verdade, Luciano M., Victoria, Reynaldo L., and Van der Wielen, Luuk. The role of bioenergy in a climate-changing world. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2017.02.008.
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Souza, Glaucia Mendes, Ballester, Maria Victoria R., de Brito Cruz, Carlos Henrique, Chum, Helena, Dale, Bruce, Dale, Virginia H., Fernandes, Erick C. M., Foust, Thomas D., Karp, Angela, Lynd, Lee, Filho, Rubens Maciel, Milanez, Artur, Nigro, Francisco, Osseweijer, Patricia, Verdade, Luciano M., Victoria, Reynaldo L., & Van der Wielen, Luuk. The role of bioenergy in a climate-changing world. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2017.02.008
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Souza, Glaucia Mendes, Ballester, Maria Victoria R., de Brito Cruz, Carlos Henrique, Chum, Helena, Dale, Bruce, Dale, Virginia H., Fernandes, Erick C. M., Foust, Thomas D., Karp, Angela, Lynd, Lee, Filho, Rubens Maciel, Milanez, Artur, Nigro, Francisco, Osseweijer, Patricia, Verdade, Luciano M., Victoria, Reynaldo L., and Van der Wielen, Luuk. Fri . "The role of bioenergy in a climate-changing world". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2017.02.008. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1389736.
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@article{osti_1389736,
title = {The role of bioenergy in a climate-changing world},
author = {Souza, Glaucia Mendes and Ballester, Maria Victoria R. and de Brito Cruz, Carlos Henrique and Chum, Helena and Dale, Bruce and Dale, Virginia H. and Fernandes, Erick C. M. and Foust, Thomas D. and Karp, Angela and Lynd, Lee and Filho, Rubens Maciel and Milanez, Artur and Nigro, Francisco and Osseweijer, Patricia and Verdade, Luciano M. and Victoria, Reynaldo L. and Van der Wielen, Luuk},
abstractNote = {Bioenergy has been under intense scrutiny over the last ten years with significant research efforts in many countries taking place to define and measure sustainable practices. We describe here the main challenges and policy issues, and provide policy recommendations for scaling up sustainable bioenergy approaches globally. The 2016 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) will not reach even global Green House Gas (GHG) emission targets of 2oC. Sustainable biomass production can make a significant contribution. Substantive evidence exists that many bioenergy cropping systems can bring multiple benefits and off-set environmental problems associated with fossil fuels, intensive food production and urbanization. We provide evidence that there are many approaches to land use for bioenergy expansion that do not lead to competition for food or other needs, We should focus on how to manage theses approaches on a synergistic basis and how to reduce tradeoffs at landscape scales. Priorities for successful synergies between bioenergy and food security include integrated resource management designed to improve both food security and access to bioenergy, investments in technology, rural extension, and innovations that build capacity and infrastructure, promotion of stable prices to incentivize local production and use of double cropping and flex crops (plants grown for both food and non-food markets) that provide food and energy as well as other services. The sustainable production of biomass requires appropriate policies to secure long-term investment for support to improve crop productivity and also to ensure environmental as well as economic and social benefits of bioenergy cropping systems, without compromising food security. Continuous support for cropping, infrastructure, agricultural management and related policies is needed to foster positive synergies between food crops and bioenergy production. In comparison to fossil fuels biofuels have many positive environmental benefits. Potential negative impacts caused by land-use change and agriculture intensification can be mitigated by agroecological zoning, best management practices, the use of eco-hydrology and biodiversity-friendly concepts at field, watershed and landscape scales. Global climate and environmental changes related to the use of fossil fuels and inequitable development make it unethical not to pursue more equitable energy development that includes bioenergy. To achieve sustainable development, competitiveness and costs of bioenergy production need to be addressed in a manner that considers not only economic gains, but also development of local knowledge and social and environmental benefits.},
doi = {10.1016/j.envdev.2017.02.008},
journal = {Environmental Development},
number = C,
volume = 23,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Feb 24 00:00:00 EST 2017},
month = {Fri Feb 24 00:00:00 EST 2017}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2017.02.008
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