Researchers: Wood Burning Unsustainable, Huge Footprint…”Will Accelerate Warming For Decades”

“Worse than fossil fuels”…wood burning “must stop…”

Source: Klimaschau 115

Governments and activists like claiming that burning wood and wood pellets from trees in power plants is an effective way to reduce global CO2 emissions. Yet researchers now say it is in fact having the opposite effect.

Hat-tip: Klimaschau 115

A team led by Laura Bloomer concluded here in a report that “burning trees and other forest biomass for energy is contrary to climate mitigation, biodiversity protection, and environmental justice goals” and that “governments must stop promoting climate-damaging forest bioenergy.” The researchers are calling for a stop to the folly of burning trees.

Takes decades to offset

According to the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD) press release, such bioenergy indeed “has a substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint and will accelerate warming for decades” and “in fact, burning woody biomass releases more carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuels per unit of energy” and that it takes many decades for tree regrowth to offset those emissions.

False bioenergy accounting

The researchers say governments have been using “ false accounting” when calculating forest bioenergy’s emissions and that it “must end”.

“Countries must move away from forest bioenergy which not only damages the forest sinks but also worsens the air pollution, biodiversity loss and environmental injustice,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the IGSD.

“Will accelerate warming”

Because of bioenergy’s emissions footprint and the associated forest destruction, it will accelerate warming in the coming decades. The authors argue that countries should end subsidies for and move away from forest bioenergy.

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