INFO - Biofuels: more harm than merit?

Add a Comment

1 Comment

Comment by Mika Huettner on April 22, 2008 at 7:16am

found this info on biofuels in my today`s mails:

It was proposed at the IPCC "What next?" meeting in Berlin (Nov 23rd, 2007) that the appropriate metric for threats of "serious or irreversible damage" (Art 3.3 of the UNFCCC) is not a rate of change of temperature or the level of temperature (e.g. "0.2 deg Celsius per decade", or "2 deg Celsius", but the integral of CO2 levels abvove pre-industrial - visit
http://ecf.pik-potsdam.de/past-events/ipcc-conference-1/documents-1/Peter-Read-Berlin%20IPCC%20statement.pdf/view Also (with a brief background note) http://ips.ac.nz/publications/publications/show/219.

"Precautionary action, not to be delayed for lack of full scientific certainty" (Art 3.3) to close this integral within a few decades entails removing carbon from the atmosphere, rather than just reducing emissions. This is discussed in my editorial essay "Biosphere Carbon Stock Measurement" published recently in Climatic Change, along with several editorial comments for which I hereby express my thanks to the authors.

Climatic Change 87/3-4
Biosphere carbon stock management: addressing the threat of abrupt climate change in the next few decades: an editorial essay Peter Read 305-320
Biomass with capture: negative emissions within social and environmental constraints: an editorial comment James S. Rhodes and David W. Keith 321-328
“Biosphere carbon stock management: Addressing the threat of abrupt climate change in the next few decades.” By Peter Read. An editorial comment. John E. Leake 329-334
Large-scale biomass for energy, with considerations and cautions: an editorial comment Gregg Marland and Michael Obersteiner 335-342
“Biosphere carbon stock management: addressing the threat of abrupt climate change in the next few decades.” By Peter Read. An editorial comment Catrinus J. Jepma 343-346

Each of these, including my essay, share concerns regarding the potential negative impacts (as recently discussed in articles in Science by Tilman et al and Searchinger et al) of attempts to control atmospheric carbon through biosphere carbon stock management that is conducted without regard to best sustainable practice . These concerns were also addressed by a group of experts, along with the potential benefits that can arise in terms of soil improvement, energy security, and sustainable rural development (as well as control of atmospheric carbon on a few decades time scale) from the rapid uptake of sustainably produced bio-fuels. The resulting Sustainable Biofuels Consensus can be accessed at http://www.sef.org.nz/views/Sustainable_Biofuels.pdf

Peter Read