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Carbon debt and payback time – Lost in the forest?

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  • Bentsen, Niclas Scott

Abstract

In later years the potential contribution of forest bioenergy to mitigate climate change has been increasingly questioned due to temporal displacement between CO2 emissions when forest biomass is used for energy and subsequent sequestration of carbon in new biomass. Also disturbance of natural decay of dead biomass when used for energy affect the carbon dynamics of forest ecosystems. These perturbations of forest ecosystems are summarized under the concept of carbon debt and its payback time. Narrative reviews demonstrate that the payback time of apparently comparable forest bioenergy supply scenarios vary by up to 200 years allowing amble room for confusion and dispute about the climate benefits of forest bioenergy. This meta-analysis confirm that the outcome of carbon debt studies lie in the assumptions and find that methodological rather than ecosystem and management related assumptions determine the findings. The study implies that at the current development of carbon debt methodologies and their lack of consensus the concept in it-self is inadequate for informing and guiding policy development. At the management level the carbon debt concept may provide valuable information directing management principles in a more climate benign directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Bentsen, Niclas Scott, 2017. "Carbon debt and payback time – Lost in the forest?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1211-1217.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:73:y:2017:i:c:p:1211-1217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.004
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