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Back to the past: Burning wood to save the globe

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  • Johnston, Craig M.T.
  • Cornelis van Kooten, G.

Abstract

In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning, renewable energy policies incentivize use of forest biomass as an energy source. Many governments have assumed (legislated) the carbon flux from burning biomass to be neutral because biomass growth sequesters CO2. Yet, trees take decades to recover the CO2 released by burning, so assumed emissions neutrality (or near neutrality) implies that climate change is not considered an urgent matter. As biomass energy continues to be a significant strategy for transitioning away from fossil fuels, this paper asks the question: To what extent should we value future atmospheric carbon removals? To answer this, we examine the assumptions and pitfalls of biomass carbon sequestration in light of its increasing use as a fossil-fuel alternative. This study demonstrates that the assumed carbon neutrality of biomass for energy production hinges on the fact that we weakly discount future removals of carbon, and it is sensitive to tree species and the nature of the fuel for which biomass substitutes.

Suggested Citation

  • Johnston, Craig M.T. & Cornelis van Kooten, G., 2015. "Back to the past: Burning wood to save the globe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 185-193.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:120:y:2015:i:c:p:185-193
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.10.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kurt Niquidet & Brad Stennes & G. C. van Kooten, 2012. "Bioenergy from Mountain Pine Beetle Timber and Forest Residuals: A Cost Analysis," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 60(2), pages 195-210, June.
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    6. Moiseyev, Alexander & Solberg, Birger & Kallio, A. Maarit I. & Lindner, Marcus, 2011. "An economic analysis of the potential contribution of forest biomass to the EU RES target and its implications for the EU forest industries," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 197-213, April.
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    8. Johnston, Craig M.T. & van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2015. "Economics of co-firing coal and biomass: An application to Western Canada," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 7-17.
    9. Ince, Peter J. & Kramp, Andrew D. & Skog, Kenneth E. & Yoo, Do-il & Sample, V. Alaric, 2011. "Modeling future U.S. forest sector market and trade impacts of expansion in wood energy consumption," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 142-156, April.
    10. Searchinger, Timothy & Heimlich, Ralph & Houghton, R. A. & Dong, Fengxia & Elobeid, Amani & Fabiosa, Jacinto F. & Tokgoz, Simla & Hayes, Dermot J. & Yu, Hun-Hsiang, 2008. "Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12881, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    11. Peter J. Ince & Andrew Kramp & Kenneth E. Skog, 2012. "Evaluating Economic Impacts of Expanded Global Wood Energy Consumption with the USFPM/GFPM Model," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 60(2), pages 211-237, June.
    12. Bogle, Tim & van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2013. "Options for maintaining forest productivity after natural disturbance: A principal–agent approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 138-144.
    13. Buongiorno, Joseph & Raunikar, Ronald & Zhu, Shushuai, 2011. "Consequences of increasing bioenergy demand on wood and forests: An application of the Global Forest Products Model," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 214-229, April.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2017. "The Economic Challenge of Mitigating Climate Change through Forestry Activities," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 261275, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. G. Cornelis van Kooten & Mark E. Eiswerth & Jonathon Izett & Alyssa R. Russell, 2021. "Climate Change and the Social Cost of Carbon: DICE Explained and Expanded," Working Papers 2021-01, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
    3. van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2018. "The Challenge of Mitigating Climate Change through Forestry Activities: What Are the Rules of the Game?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 35-43.
    4. Knoke, Thomas & Gosling, Elizabeth & Paul, Carola, 2020. "Use and misuse of the net present value in environmental studies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    5. Jarisch, Isabelle & Bödeker, Kai & Bingham, Logan Robert & Friedrich, Stefan & Kindu, Mengistie & Knoke, Thomas, 2022. "The influence of discounting ecosystem services in robust multi-objective optimization – An application to a forestry-avocado land-use portfolio," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    6. G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2018. "Can Carbon Offset Trading Promote Economic Development in Forest-Dependent and First Nations Communities?," Working Papers 2018-02, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
    7. G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2016. "California Dreaming: The Economics of Renewable Energy," Working Papers 2016-05, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
    8. G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2020. "Climate Change and Agriculture," Working Papers 2020-01, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
    9. G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2017. "The Policy Challenge of Creating Forest Offset Credits: A Case Study from the Interior of British Columbia," Working Papers 2017-02, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
    10. G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2023. "Determining optimal forest rotation ages and carbon offset credits: Accounting for post‐harvest carbon storehouses," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 71(2), pages 255-272, June.
    11. van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2020. "How effective are forests in mitigating climate change?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    12. Fabian H. Härtl & Sebastian Höllerl & Thomas Knoke, 2017. "A new way of carbon accounting emphasises the crucial role of sustainable timber use for successful carbon mitigation strategies," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 1163-1192, December.
    13. Lauri, Pekka & Forsell, Nicklas & Korosuo, Anu & Havlík, Petr & Obersteiner, Michael & Nordin, Annika, 2017. "Impact of the 2°C target on global woody biomass use," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 121-130.
    14. Wang, Yihan & Wen, Zongguo & Yao, Jianguo & Doh Dinga, Christian, 2020. "Multi-objective optimization of synergic energy conservation and CO2 emission reduction in China's iron and steel industry under uncertainty," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    15. Daigneault, Adam & Johnston, Craig & Korosuo, Anu & Baker, Justin S. & Forsell, Nicklas & Prestemon, Jeffrey P. & Abt, Robert C., 2019. "Developing Detailed Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) Narratives for the Global Forest Sector," Journal of Forest Economics, now publishers, vol. 34(1-2), pages 7-45, August.
    16. van Kooten, G. Cornelis & Nijnik, Maria & Bradford, Kimpton, 2019. "Can carbon accounting promote economic development in forest-dependent, indigenous communities?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 68-74.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bioenergy; Climate change; Forestry; Life cycle analysis; Discounting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General
    • C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computational Techniques

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