The document discusses carbon accounting options for bioenergy and their implications. It presents three basic accounting approaches: 1) not counting CO2 emissions from bioenergy combustion (the current system), 2) counting emissions at combustion similar to fossil fuels, and 3) accounting for emissions along the biomass value chain. Each approach is evaluated based on criteria like comprehensiveness and simplicity. Implications examined include the timing and location of emissions and how accounting choices affect efforts to reduce emissions and stimulate rural economies while preserving forests.

1. 09/06/2011
Carbon Accounting Options for Bioenergy
Descriptions, Evaluations and
Implications
Bioenergy, Sustainability and Trade-offs:
Can We Avoid Deforestation while Promoting Bioenergy?
Bonn Climate Change Talks – June 2011
Side Event, June 8th 20:00 – 21:30
Metro
Neil Bird, Naomi Pena, Giuliana Zanchi and Dorian Frieden
Email: neil.bird@joanneum.at
www.joanneum.at
Elisabethstrasse 5, A-8010 Graz, Austria
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What is the focus of our
research?
• Activity 2.2: Review of existing methods for
carbon accounting for bioenergy
– Use Tier 2 or Tier 3 accounting methods;
– Include dead wood, litter and soil organic carbon pools
– Linearization period over the first rotation and not fixed at
some specific length of time, if one is using a linear
approximation to the forest carbon stock dynamics.
• Activity 2.3: Alternative accounting systems for
bioenergy
• Activity 2.1: Improved analysis of the potential
of sustainable forest-based bioenergy for
climate change mitigation
www.joanneum.at
Elisabethstrasse 5, A-8010 Graz, Austria
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2. 09/06/2011
Outline
• Introduction
• Alternative accounting systems
• Evaluation scheme
• Implications
• Conclusions
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Introduction
• Existing accounting system
– Bioenergy emissions = 0 in the energy sector
– If there are carbon stock losses then they will be accounted for in
the land use sector
– Reasoning
• Simple
• If sustainably managed, then no life cycle carbon stock losses
• Bioenergy information less certain that fossil energy consumption
– Imperfect in an imperfect world
• Partial participation
• Timing of emissions
• Re-evaluation of accounting systems
– US – EPA
• Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting
requirements to biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from bioenergy and
other biogenic stationary sources.
– EU Renewable Energy Directive
• Implications of indirect land use change
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3. 09/06/2011
Accounting systems
• Three basic approaches
1. CO2 emissions are not counted at the point of
combustion (0-combustion factor)
• the current system;
2. CO2 emissions are counted at the point of
combustion (1-combustion factor)
• biomass combusted is counted in the same way as CO2
released upon combustion of fossil fuels; and
3. CO2 emissions along the biomass-energy value
chain are the responsibility of end users.
• Value-chain approaches are used to determine whether
bioenergy meets a regulatory requirement or to derive
multiplier other than ‘0’ or ‘1’ for combustion emissions.
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Physical greenhouse gas emissions and
flows of carbon in a bioenergy system
Atmosphere
Bio-CO2 Fossil-CO2 Fossil-CO2
Non-CO2 Non-CO2
Growth Bioenergy
Oxidation
CO2
Transferred C
Producer Consumer
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Theoretical accounting of flows
Current approach (0-combustion factor)
Atmosphere
Bio-CO2 Fossil-CO2 Fossil-CO2
Non-CO2 Non-CO2
Growth Bioenergy
Oxidation
CO2
Producer Consumer
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Theoretical accounting of flows
“Tailpipe” approach (1-combustion factor)
Atmosphere
Fossil-CO2 Fossil-CO2
Non-CO2 Non-CO2
Bioenergy
CO2
Producer Consumer
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5. 09/06/2011
Theoretical accounting of flows
“POUR” approach (1-combustion factor)
Atmosphere
Bio-CO2 Fossil-CO2 Fossil-CO2
Non-CO2 Non-CO2
Growth Bioenergy
Oxidation
Flows can be estimated CO2
from changes in stocks +
traded products
C embodied in products
Producer Consumer
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Theoretical accounting of flows
Value-chain approach
Atmosphere
Bio-CO2 Fossil-CO2 Fossil-CO2
Non-CO2 Non-CO2
Growth Bioenergy
Oxidation
CO2
Producer Consumer
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6. 09/06/2011
Variants to the basic approaches
• 0-combustion factor
– Corrections
• Emission correction factor
• Carbon tax
– Policy overlays
• Limited biomass types and sources
• Limited countries
• 1-combustion factor
– Tailpipe
– Point of uptake and release (POUR)
• Value chain
– EU Renewable Energy Directive
– US RFS2
– DeCicco approach
• Reduces the double counting in value chain approaches if part of the chain is
the responsibility of another entity
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Evaluation of alternative
accounting systems
• Subjective evaluation
• General criteria
– Comprehensiveness over space and time
– Simplicity
– Scale independence
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7. 09/06/2011
Evaluation by general criteria
Rank Rank
Accounting Comprehensi Scale
Simplicity even comprehensive
system veness* independence
weights double
Combustion factor = 0 approaches
Yes with
Unmodified Low (6) High (1) 3 4
drawbacks (1)
Existing + emissions
Acceptable (4) Low (5) Yes (1) 4 5
correction
Existing + policy Depends on Depends: medium
Yes (1) 4 6
overlay policy details (5) to low (4)
Combustion factor = 1 approaches
Tailpipe Medium (3) High (1) Yes (1) 1 1
Point of uptake and
High (2) Medium (3) Yes (1) 2 1
release (POUR)
Value-chain approaches
In some versions
All Very high (1) Low (5) 6 3
(6)
*Assumes partial participation by countries post-2012
Overestimation of emissions improved the environmental integrity if there is partial participation
The values in parentheses are the rank of each approach for each criterion.
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Evaluation of alternative
accounting systems
• Stakeholder problems
– Energy security and energy price increases;
– Food security and higher food prices;
– Loss of environmental services through the depletion of
natural resources (i.e. deforestation);
– Vulnerability to climate change
– The need to reduce GHG emissions.
– Rural economies
• low forest and agricultural commodity prices; and
• limited employment and income opportunities.
• Impacts on stakeholder goals
– Stimulate rural economies
– Protect food security
– Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
– Preserve forests
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Evaluation by
impacts on stakeholder goals
Rank
Accounting Stimulate rural Protect food Reduce GHG Rank
Preserve forests stimulation
system economies security emissions even weights
double
Combustion factor = 0 approaches
Unmodified High (1) Low (8) Low (9) Low (8) 9 7
Existing + Higher than
Lower than Depends on Depends on
emissions unmodified 8 8
unmodified (4) mandates (7) mandates (6)
correction (7)
Depends on Depends on
Existing +
Selective (5) Uncertain (3) programme programme 7 6
acceptable lands
details (7) details (6)
Existing +
acceptable High (1) High (1) High (1) High (1) 1 1
trading partners
Combustion factor = 1 approaches
Tailpipe Low (9) High (1) High (1) Low (8) 6 8
Low in the short
POUR* High (1) Low (8) High (1) 4 3
term (5)
Value-chain approaches
EU Renewable Depends on Depends on
Medium (6) Medium (4) 5 5
Energy Directive mandates (5) mandates (3)
Depends on Depends on
US RFS2 High (1) High (1) 2 2
mandates (5) mandates (3)
Depends on
Depends on
structure of
DeCicco-type structure of cap- High (1) Likely high (3) 3 4
cap-and-trade
and-trade (5)
(3)
*Assumes a a market mechanism to transfer credits for uptake to debits for emissions
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Evaluation of alternative
accounting systems
Accounting Rank Rank Combined
system comprehensive stimulation rank
double weight double weight
0-combustion factor approaches
Unmodified 4 7 7
Existing + emissions correction 5 8 9
Existing + acceptable biomass types 6 6 8
and sources
Existing + acceptable trading 6 1 3
partners
1-combustion factor approaches
Tailpipe 1 8 6
POUR 1 3 1
Value-chain and consumer-based approaches
EU Renewable Energy Directive 3 5 5
US RFS2 3 2 2
DeCicco type 3 4 3
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Implications
• Timing of emissions
• Location of emissions
• Full land use change model
– Direct and indirect land use change
– GLOBIOM (Havlík, P et al, 2011)
– Global biofuel demand to 2030
• 60% 1st generation
• 40% 2nd generation
– Short-rotation forestry on agricultural land
– Include dead wood, litter and soil organic carbon
– Pessimistic model
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LUC model comparisons
LUC GHG emissions
(g CO2eq/MJ)
Corn ethanol Sugarcane ethanol Rapeseed Soybean
200
biodiesel biodiesel
150
100
GLOBIOM
60% 1st 50
40% 2nd
0
IFPRI BAU 2020
IFPRI BAU 2020
IFPRI BAU 2020
IFPRI BAU 2020
Lywood
Lywood
Lywood
Lywood
CARB
CARB
CARB
IFPRI Trade lib. 2020
Tipper et al
IFPRI Trade lib. 2020
Tipper et al
IFPRI Trade lib. 2020
Tipper et al
IFPRI Trade lib. 2020
EPA 2017
EPA 2017
EPA 2022
EPA 2017
EPA 2022
EPA 2022
Hertel et al
Searchinger et al
‐50
‐100
‐150
‐200
From: Berndes G., Bird N., and Cowie A. 2010. Bioenergy, Land Use Change and Climate Change
Mitigation. IEA Bioenergy Strategic Paper. IEA Bioenergy:ExCo:2010:03. Available at:
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10. 09/06/2011
Implications
Timing of emissions
Emissions from Fossil Fuels and Biofuels
AgriLand Option
14000
12000
Cumulative Emissions (MtCO2eq)
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2000 2010 2020 2030
Living biomass DWLSOC Non-LUC Fossil fuels 60% 1st & 40% 2nd
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Implications
Location of emissions
Emissions by Region under Different Accounting Systems
Low Default Values, Baseline Scenario, AgriLand Option
1000
800
Cumulative Emissions (MtCO2eq)
600
400
200
0
AFR CPA EEU FSU LAM MEA NAM PAO PAS SAS WEU
-200
Fossil fuels IPCC POUR Value-chain
Abbreviations: AFR = sub-Saharan Africa, CPA = centrally planned Asia, EEU = Central and Eastern Europe, FSU
ISO 9001 = Former Soviet Union, LAM = Latin America, MEA = Middle East and North Africa, NAM = North America, PAO = 20
certified Pacific OECD, PAS = Other Pacific Asia, SAS = South Asia, WEU = Western Europe.
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11. 09/06/2011
Conclusions
• Alternatives to the current accounting system for bioenergy are being
contemplated
• Bioenergy accounting systems fall into three types:
– Bioenergy has no emission in the energy sector (0-combustion factor)
– Bioenergy has an emission in the energy sector
(1-combustion factor)
– Bioenergy emissions follow the value chain
• There are advantages and disadvantages of all three and the choice depends
on evaluation criteria
– 0-combustion factor
• Simple,
• Comprehensive (if all parties are involved),
• Promotes bioenergy
– 1-combustion factor
• More complicated
• Comprehensive (or environmentally conservative)
• Does not promote bioenergy (may stimulate rural economy directly)
– Value-chain
• Most complicated,
• Most comprehensive
• Tends not promote bioenergy
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Conclusions (continued)
• Implications
– Timing of emissions
• Biofuels may not reduce emissions when timing is
considered
– Location of emissions
• Changing the accounting system alters the mitigation
responsibility by nations
– Partial participation
• Reality ?
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12. 09/06/2011
Future Publications
• Improved analysis of the potential of sustainable forest-
based bioenergy for climate change mitigation
– Include emissions from dead wood, litter and soil organic carbon
– Include sensitivity analysis of assumptions
– Impacts of alternative accounting approaches
– Include time series of emissions
• Overview of existing liquid biofuels for
transportation technologies
• Emission balances of first and second generation
biofuels: case studies for Africa, Mexico and
Indonesia
– Life Cycle Assessment using BioGrace
• local factors for non-LUC emissions
• Global LUC emissions
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Thank you for your attention
To download publications:
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/bioenergy/_ref/research/output/published-document.htm
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