Climate saviour or climate endgame?
Almuth Ernsting and Deepak Rughani, Updated December 2008
This is a critical analysis of proposals for 'carbon negative' bioenergy, including biochar (agrichar) and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, as a means of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and mitigating climate change. It includes a wider discussion about the impacts of large-scale bioenergy, and about alternative adequate responses to the current crisis.
The statements and conclusions contained in the report are the sole responsibility of the authors.
It may be downloaded as sections or as a full document:
Header
Executive summary
Section 1. Introduction: Abrupt climate change and the search for solutions
Section 2. Proposals for cooling the planet
Section 3. ‘Carbon negative’ bioenergy from vast monocultures?
Section 4. Biochar: cooling the planet with charcoal?
Section 5. Five Hundred Million Hectares of Plantations to Cool the Planet? (1.0 megabytes)
Section 6. BECS, Biochar and the converging ecological and social crises
Section 7. Towards an adequate response to the converging crises
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2 comments:
Interesting to note. In this review and critique of alternatives to burning fossil fuel, all of which the authors roundly condemn as driven by short sightedness, greed and a psychological addiction to industrial based, hierarchical, power structures: the conclusion is that all we can do to save ourselves is a forced return to a pre-industrial arcadian lifestyle. Which can be translated as : first many of us must die. This is helpful? How?
Its a critique specifically of geo-engineering with bioenergy: solar, wind, tidal and other alternatives are not "condemed". Its helpful (the critique) because it points out further study of the impacts on global warming, food production and biosphere diversity are required. I see a call to reduce our consumption, change our lifestyles beyond reliance on industrial growth. There are a billion people who go hungry on this planet, partly do to the consequences of industrial growth..
A holistic approach as the authors call for, rather than an industrial/profit driven one.
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