Cool Farming Biochar and Climate Change

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Cool Farming - Biochar and Climate Change

• Craig Sams
• April 29 2009
• Brussels

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Brundtland Commission definition of Sustainable
Development

• Development that meets the needs of the present
  without compromising the ability of future
  generations to meet their own needs

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Louisiana Territory - Virgin Prairie
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"We ploughed the prairie and never knew what we
were doing because we did not know what we were
undoing."
Wendell Berry
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Dust Cloud 1935
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50 of total CO2 increase 1850-1980 is from
farming
From 1850-1980
Total CO2 from Farming 160 Billion
Tonnes Total CO2 from Fossil Fuels 165 Billion
Tonnes
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The magnitude of soil C loss since the 19th
Century

• 30-40 tonnes/ha

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Putting Carbon Back in Soil
40
30
Cumulative C sequestration (MT/ha)
20
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time after conversion (yrs)
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Albert Einstein
We cant solve problems by using the same kind
of thinking we used when we created them.
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Johannesburg April 2008 400 experts Report
Stop subsidies Put human health first Green
Revolution had unintended consequences Genetic
Engineering a problem, not a solution Little time
left Protect our agricultural capital
(soil) Support small farmers and diverse
ecosystems Reward farmers who prevent climate
change Study and learn from traditional farming
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From Biomass to Biochar to Carbon
Dry weight biomass 1000 Kg Biochar (40)
400 Kg Carbon (80 of Char)
320 Kg 1/3 of biomass dry weight is pure Carbon
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Bio-char improves Soil
Increases Soil Carbon Reduces leaching of
nitrates, phosphates, potash Increases
microbiological population Increases
water-holding capacity of soil
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Hiow can we make Rainforest worth more alive than
dead?
Carbon content per hectare
150 tonnes ECX price Dec 08 15 MT CO2
x 3.76 57 tonne C Value of 1 hectare
rainforest 8500 Current
Brazilian soybean land price 300
hectare 1/2 interest on Stored Carbon
85 Income from biochar
harvesting 2 MT x 57 114 Total
sustainable income
199 p,a
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Good karma for oil drums
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1000 unit cost - 5 hectare farm25 tonnes per
annum 1250 value of Carbon credit1000
fertility value
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• Belize - Organic cacao
• Typical Farm - 1 Ha cacao 5 Ha Slash and Burn
• I Ha Cacao 400 Kgs _at_ 4.00 Kg 1600
• Cacao prunings and shade trimmings _at_ 75 MT
• 3 MT/Ha biochar from cacao prunings 225
  
• 15 Mt Biochar from Slash and Char 1125
• Additional income from biochar 1350
• 84 Increase in annual income
• 6.5 million cacao farmers worldwide

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Sussex Chestnut Coppice
Retort cost 1000 Annual Char output 50 tonnes
3000
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Greece - Olive prunings
Total hectares 1,220,000 Ha Prunings 30
Kg/tree x 200 trees/Ha 6 Mt per Hectare x 1.22
m 7.2 Million Mt x .33 2.4 Million MT
Carbon 2.4 Million MT Carbon _at_ 75 MT 187.5
Million EU wide 550 million in carbon
offsets paid to Mediterranean Member states by
Northern European industry
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One Gigatonne Wedgefrom Slash and Char
1,000,000,000 tonnes of CO2 - 1 Gigatonne One
retort sequesters 150 Tonnes CO2 per annum,
So 6,600,000 retorts needed to capture 1
Gigatonne Capital cost _at_ 1000 per retort
6.6 billion 1 Gigatonne at 20 per tonne 20
billion per annum revenue Total land area per GT
at 3 MT per hectare 300,000,000 ha Total slash
and burn area worldwide 300,000,000
ha
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Carbon Gardening
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Lord Nicholas Stern
Delay now and haste later not only build up
damage but also risk expensive mistakes in
investment decisions. The greater the coordinated
involvement of all emitters the more successful,
cheaper and equitable are actions and
outcomes. From A Blueprint for a Safer Planet
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Lord Nicholas Stern An example which may
become important is biochar which is made by
heating biomass in the absence of oxygen, a
process known as pyrolysis . It is better than
carbon neutral, it is carbon negative in the
sense that net it removes CO2From A Blueprint
for a Safer Planet
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Cool Farming - Biochar and Climate Change

• Craig Sams
• April 29 2009
• Brussels