IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/enreec/v24y2003i4p291-312.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Potential of Biomass Based Fuels for Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation

Author

Listed:
  • Uwe Schneider
  • Bruce McCarl

Abstract

Use of biofuels diminishes fossil fuelcombustion thereby also reducing net greenhousegas emissions. However, subsidies are neededto make agricultural biofuel productioneconomically feasible. To explore the economicpotential of biofuels in a greenhouse gasmitigation market, we incorporate data onproduction and biofuel processing for thedesignated energy crops switchgrass, hybridpoplar, and willow in an U.S. AgriculturalSector Model along with data on traditionalcrop-livestock production and processing, andafforestation of cropland. Net emissioncoefficients on all included agriculturalpractices are estimated through crop growthsimulation models or taken from the literature. Potential emission mitigation policies ormarkets are simulated via hypothetical carbonprices. At each carbon price level, theAgricultural Sector Model computes the newmarket equilibrium, revealing agriculturalcommodity prices, regionally specificproduction, input use, and welfare levels,environmental impacts, and adoption ofalternative management practices such asbiofuel production. Results indicate no rolefor biofuels below carbon prices of $40 perton of carbon equivalent. At these incentivelevels, emission reductions via reduced soiltillage and afforestation are more costefficient. For carbon prices above $70,biofuels dominate all other agriculturalmitigation strategies. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2003

Suggested Citation

  • Uwe Schneider & Bruce McCarl, 2003. "Economic Potential of Biomass Based Fuels for Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 24(4), pages 291-312, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:24:y:2003:i:4:p:291-312
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1023632309097
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1023/A:1023632309097
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1023/A:1023632309097?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul Gallagher & Donald Johnson, 1999. "Some New Ethanol Technology: Cost Competition and Adoption Effects in the Petroleum Market," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 89-120.
    2. Gallagher, Paul & Johnson, Donald, 1999. "Some New Ethanol Technology: Cost Competition and Adoption Effects in the Petroleum Market," ISU General Staff Papers 199901010800001274, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    3. GR Pautsch & LA Kurkalova & BA Babcock & CL Kling, 2001. "The Efficiency Of Sequestering Carbon In Agricultural Soils," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 19(2), pages 123-134, April.
    4. Ching-Cheng Chang & Bruce A. McCarl & James W. Mjelde & James W. Richardson, 1992. "Sectoral Implications of Farm Program Modifications," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 74(1), pages 38-49.
    5. Schneider, Uwe A. & Kumar, Pushpam, 2008. "Greenhouse Gas Mitigation through Agriculture," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 23(1), pages 1-5.
    6. N. De Liso & G. Filatrella, 1999. "On technology competition," Working Papers 337, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    7. Keith H. Coble & Ching-Cheng Chang & Bruce A. McCarl & Bobby R. Eddleman, 1992. "Assessing Economic Implications of New Technology: The Case of Cornstarch-Based Biodegradable Plastic," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 14(1), pages 33-43.
    8. Alig, Ralph J. & Adams, Darius M. & McCarl, Bruce A., 1998. "Impacts of Incorporating Land Exchanges Between Forestry and Agriculture in Sector Models," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(2), pages 389-401, December.
    9. Christopher N. MacCracken & James A. Edmonds & Son H. Kim & Ronald D. Sands, 1999. "The Economics of the Kyoto Protocol," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Special I), pages 25-71.
    10. Gallagher, Paul W. & Johnson, Donald, 1999. "Some New Ethanol Technology: Cost Competition and Adoption Effects in the Petroleum Market," Staff General Research Papers Archive 5265, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    11. Robert N. Stavins, 1999. "The Costs of Carbon Sequestration: A Revealed-Preference Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 994-1009, September.
    12. McCarl, Bruce A. & Schneider, Uwe A., 1999. "Curbing Greenhouse Gases: Agriculture's Role," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 14(1), pages 1-4.
    13. Jinxia Wang & Robert Mendelsohn & Ariel Dinar & Jikun Huang & Scott Rozelle & Lijuan Zhang, 2009. "The impact of climate change on China's agriculture," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(3), pages 323-337, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul W. Gallagher, 2009. "Roles for evolving markets, policies, and technology improvements in U.S. corn ethanol industry development," Regional Economic Development, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Apr, pages 12-33.
    2. Uwe A. Schneider & Michael Obersteiner & Erwin Schmid & Bruce A. McCarl, 2007. "Agricultural adaptation to climate policies under technical change," Working Papers FNU-133, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Jan 2008.
    3. Paul Gallagher & Mark Dikeman & John Fritz & Eric Wailes & Wayne Gauthier & Hosein Shapouri, 2003. "Supply and Social Cost Estimates for Biomass from Crop Residues in the United States," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 24(4), pages 335-358, April.
    4. Schneider, Uwe A. & McCarl, Bruce A. & Schmid, Erwin, 2007. "Agricultural sector analysis on greenhouse gas mitigation in US agriculture and forestry," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 128-140, May.
    5. Heng‐Chi Lee & Bruce A. McCarl & Dhazn Gillig, 2005. "The Dynamic Competitiveness of U.S. Agricultural and Forest Carbon Sequestration," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 53(4), pages 343-357, December.
    6. Schneider, Uwe A. & McCarl, Bruce A., 2005. "Implications of a Carbon-Based Energy Tax for U.S. Agriculture," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 34(2), pages 265-279, October.
    7. Szulczyk, Kenneth R. & McCarl, Bruce A. & Cornforth, Gerald, 2010. "Market penetration of ethanol," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 394-403, January.
    8. HUBERT Marie-Hélène & MOREAUX Michel, 2007. "The challenge of meeting the future food needs," LERNA Working Papers 07.17.238, LERNA, University of Toulouse.
    9. Rendleman, C. Matthew & Shapouri, Hosein, 2007. "New Technologies in Ethanol Production," Agricultural Economic Reports 308483, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Junpyo Park & John Anderson & Eric Thompson, 2019. "Land-Use, Crop Choice, and Proximity to Ethanol Plants," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-14, July.
    11. Thorsell, Sara & Epplin, Francis M. & Huhnke, Raymond L., 2003. "Economies Of Size Of A Coordinated Biorefinery Feedstock Harvest System," 2003 Annual Meeting, February 1-5, 2003, Mobile, Alabama 35059, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    12. Uwe A. Schneider & Bruce A. McCarl, 2003. "Measuring Abatement Potentials When Multiple Change Is Present: The Case Of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation In U.S. Agriculture And Forestry," Working Papers FNU-23, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Apr 2002.
    13. Gallagher, Paul W. & Shapouri, Hosein, 2008. "Biomass Crop and Ethanol Supply from Agricultural Lands in the United States with Methodology, Estimation Results, and State-by-State Simulations," Agricultural Economic Reports 308485, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    14. Gallagher, Paul & Shapouri, Hosein & Brubaker, Heather, 2007. "Scale, Organization, and Profitability of Ethanol Processing," ISU General Staff Papers 200703010800001439, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    15. Frederic L. Pryor, 2009. "The Economics Of Gasohol," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 27(4), pages 523-537, October.
    16. Dhazn Gillig & Bruce McCarl & Ronald Sands, 2004. "Integrating agricultural and forestry GHG mitigation response into general economy frameworks: Developing a family of response functions," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 241-259, July.
    17. Tembo, Gelson & Epplin, Francis M. & Huhnke, Raymond L., 2003. "Integrative Investment Appraisal of a Lignocellulosic Biomass-to-Ethanol Industry," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 28(3), pages 1-23, December.
    18. Gallagher, Paul W. & Shapouri, Hosein & Price, Jeffrey & Schamel, Guenter & Brubaker, Heather, 2003. "Some long-run effects of growing markets and renewable fuel standards on additives markets and the US ethanol industry," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 25(6-7), pages 585-608, September.
    19. Gallagher, Paul W. & Shapouri, Hosein & Price, Jeffrey & Schamel, Guenter & Brubaker, Heather, 2003. "Some long-run effects of growing markets and renewable fuel standards on additives markets and the US ethanol industry," ISU General Staff Papers 200309010700001445, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    20. Gallagher, Paul W. & Dikeman, Mark & Fritz, John & Wailes, Eric & Gauthier, Wayne & Shapouri, Hosein, 2003. "Supply and Social Cost Estimates for Biomass from Crop Residues in the United States," ISU General Staff Papers 200304010800001493, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:24:y:2003:i:4:p:291-312. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.