European Scientists: There Are Current Deficiencies in Biomass Carbon Measurement Methods

A recent report by a panel of 19 top European scientists stated that the existing carbon measurement methods used in the development of biofuels and other forms of biomass energy are flawed and need to be revised.

The Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency pointed out: "Everyone thinks that biomass energy is zero-carbon green energy. In fact, this assumption is flawed."

According to Reuters, the original intention of this report was to guide the EU's policy on biomass energy. Once this finding is confirmed and adopted by decision makers, the existing bioenergy policies will fundamentally change.

The publication of this report coincided with a period of intense discussions in the EU on the development of an indirect relationship between biomass and climate change. Research shows that between 2007 and 2009, 20% of sugarcane and 9% of rapeseed and grain were used globally to make biomass fuels. Due to the recent surge in food prices, ten agencies, including the World Bank and the United Nations World Food Programme, have jointly called on governments to stop supporting policy on biomass energy.

The EU scientists' research report further pointed out that policy makers made a serious mistake from the beginning, that is, the predicted carbon emissions of biomass energy are lower than the actual emissions. The basic assumption of biomass energy has always been that when using biomass energy, it will only emit carbon that plants absorb during their growth. Therefore, if biomass is treated as a fuel and carbon emissions from the cultivation and processing of these crops are not considered, their net impact on the natural carbon cycle is zero.

However, EU scientists pointed out that this is a baseline setting is wrong. Because if people do not grow biomass crops, these lands will be used to grow other crops, and the environmental impact of these crops is that they will absorb carbon dioxide.

The Scientific Committee asked the European Union to re-examine their biomass energy laws so that biomass can be used most efficiently. The report pointed out that the law that encourages the use of biomass instead of fossil energy, if it does not consider the source of biomass, may eventually increase carbon emissions and exacerbate global warming.

The European Union has already promulgated the goal of achieving a renewable energy use ratio of 20% by 2020. The current forecast estimates that by then the energy from trees and vegetation will account for about 60% of these renewable energy sources.