COP21 on Day 6: Following the Bioenergy Update Session and the Role of EU in the Negotiations
On a beautiful Saturday morning in the unusually balmy Boston weather, I grabbed my laptop and headed up to the roof-deck of my building to bask in the sunshine and follow the afternoon session of COP21 on Day 6. The session started with a panel discussion by representatives of the World Bioenergy Association on the “Contribution of Bioenergy to the Future Energy Mix to Limit Global Warming under 2 Degrees”.
Unbeknownst to many, bioenergy is an extremely renewable form of energy that, arguably, has the most widespread global applicability and potential to challenge fossil fuels in the near future — orders of magnitude greater than any other renewable sources such as solar, wind or geothermal energy. Simply put, energy can be harvested from carbon-rich biomass that is ubiquitously present in wood, forest residue, animal wastes, for example using processes such as incineration or gasification. Given that it is a “carbon-neutral process”, in the long-run the net greenhouse gas footprint is minimal given that the carbon dioxide generated from incineration or gasification is recycled back into the biomass through photosynthesis for example. Therefore, any concrete plans for the evolving future energy mix needs to include bioenergy in the recipe to ensure any viable reduction targets are met.
In this session, representatives from the World Bioenergy Association reiterated the potential for biomass energy. Gustav Melin, the head of Sweden’s bioenergy association highlighted that Sweden now derives 34.3% of its energy from biomass. Since carbon tax was implemented in Sweden in 1991, greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 23%, said Melin.
A member of the audience asked a question about the negative impacts of bioenergy generation on forests and delicate ecosystems. Representatives responded by saying that the target biomass for electricity generation would need to be wood from “young” trees that are freshly grown for the purpose of bioenergy harvesting in afforested areas. Furthermore, in Sweden for example, the bioenergy generation is mainly from residue and wastes from the pulp and paper industry and saw mills. As such, the impact on existing forests and ecosystems is likely not going to be as detrimental.
Following the bioenergy session, I followed the European Union press briefing. Representatives highlighted their role in negotiating the draft text of the deal stating how efforts were made to make it less wordy and clear. They also affirmed their support to developing countries and actively contributing to the Green Climate Fund in the near future.
Overall, a great experience following the session and excitedly looking forward to the final push for a concrete deal in Paris in the next few days!
