Task 38

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Task 38

• Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass
• and Bioenergy Systems
• Ken Byrne,
• Department of Environmental Resource Management,
• University College Dublin

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Participating Countries 1/2

• NationalCountry Team Leader Institution
• Australia A. Cowie State Forests New South
  Wales
• Austria B. Schlamadinger Joanneum Research
• Canada T. Hatton Canadian Forest Service, NRCan
• Croatia S. Fijan- Parlov EKONERG
• Denmark N. Heding Danish Forest and Landscape
  Research Inst.
• Finland I. Savolainen VTT- Processes K.
  Pingoud VTT- Processes
• Ireland K. Byrne University College Dublin

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Participating Countries 1/2

• Country National Team Institution
• Leader
• New Zealand K. Robertson Forest Research
• Norway B. Solberg Agricultural
  University of Norway
• Sweden L. Gustavsson Mid Sweden
  University
• The Netherlands K. Kwant NOVEM A. Faiij
  Utrecht University
• United Kingdom R. Matthews Forestry
  Commission Research Agency
• USA M. Ringer National Renewable Energy
  Laboratory

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Objectives scientific

• Develop, compare and make available
• models for assessing GHG balances
• Assess the life cycle GHG balance of
• bioenergy and C sequestration systems
• Analyze the country and regional potential of
• bioenergy, afforestation and other biomass based
  mitigation strategies
• Identify and analyze synergies between
• afforestation and other land based activities
  for carbon sequestration and enhanced bioenergy
  use

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Objectives implementation

• Aid decision makers
• in selecting mitigation strategies that optimize
  GHG benefits
• Assist in the implementation
• of LULUCF articles of the Kyoto Protocol
• Contribute to work
• of the IPCC/OECD/IEA related to GHG inventories
  involving carbon sequestration, wood products,
  or bioenergy
• Contribute to the development
• of international standards for GHG accounting and
  verification in LULUCF sectors

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Work Scope 1/2

• Systems-analytical assessment of GHG (CO2, CH4,
  N2O) balances, flows, stocks, emissions in
  biomass production, biomass conversion and carbon
  sequestration systems.
• Carbon pools include above and below-ground
  biomass, litter and woody debris, soils, wood
  products, fossil fuel reservoirs.

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Work Scope 2/2

• Investigation of trade-offs within and among
  these systems
• Analysis on short-term vs. long-term mitigation
  effects, considering the time value of carbon
• Cost / benefit analysis of GHG mitigation through
  biotic options
• Involvement of industrial participants with a
  view on implementing biomass-based GHG mitigation
  projects

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Task 38 work (2001 2003)

• Completed work
• Frequently Asked Questions paper
• Task 38 Folder
• Current and upcoming work
• Country reports
• Case Studies
• Country Specific Baselines
• Soil Carbon and Bioenergy
• Biofuel Trade

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Country Reports

• Background information on the general energy
  system and GHG emissions, on bioenergy systems
  and on national LULUCF situation
• Bioenergy and carbon sequestration policies and
  measures at national, regional and local levels
• Bioenergy and carbon sequestration implementation
  projects and research programmes

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Case Studies 1/2

• Apply the standard methodology to actual
  bioenergy and/or C sequestration projects
• Assess and compare GHG balances of different
  projects
• Compare to fossil energy systems
• Recommendations for optimizations
• 7 in participating countries

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Case Studies 2/2

• Australia GHG balance of 2 bioenergy systems
  (coal co-firing biomass, wood fired plant) from
  timber plantations
• Canada GHG balance of small pyrolysis plant for
  bio-Oil production using sawmill residues and
  thinnings
• Finland and Sweden GHG balances of increased use
  of construction wood and of biomass-fired CHP
  plants
• Ireland GHG budgets of peat use for energy in
  Ireland
• New Zealand GHG balance of a bioenergy CHP plant
  using sawmill residues (in comparison to natural
  gas)
• UK GHG balances of 2 small scaleheat systems,
  using conventional forestry and Miscanthus
• Croatia GHG reduction potential by biodiesel in
  context of Joint Implementation
• USA GHG reduction potential by anaerobic
  digestion.

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Key activities 1/2

• Online Bibliography Greenhouse Gas Balances of
  Bioenergy, Forestry, Wood Products, Land Use, and
  Land-Use Change
• Standard Methodology for GHG Balances of
  Bioenergy Systems (Biomass and Bioenergy)
• Position paper
• The Role of Bioenergy in Greenhouse Gas
  Mitigation

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Key activities 2/2

• Project-based Greenhouse Gas Accounting Guiding
  Principles with a Focus on Baselines and
  Additionality (Energy Policy)
• Task Website (new structure under development)
• Posters, overheads
• Semi-annual workshops
• Workshop Proceedings electronic and hard copy

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Standard Methodology

• Carbon stock dynamics
• Trade-offs and synergies
• Permanence
• Emission factors
• Efficiency
• Up stream energy inputs
• By-products
• Leakage
• Other GHGs

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Workshop Topics 1/2

• Carbon accounting and emissions trading related
  to bioenergy, wood products and carbon
  sequestration.
• Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry the road
  to COP6
• Carbon sequestration and energy balance models
• Bioenergy for mitigation of CO2 emissions the
  power, transportation and industrial sectors

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Workshop Topics 2/2

• The role of bioenergy in achieving the targets
  stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol
• Effects of the Kyoto Protocol on forestry and
  bioenergy projects for GHG mitigation
• Forestry, Forest Products and Energy
• Biofuel Trade (jointly with Task 35)

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Task 38

• Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy
  Systems
• www.joanneum.at/iea-bioenergy-task38