Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems: Highlights of IEA Bioenergy Task 38 Activities

1. Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems Highlights of IEA Bioenergy Task 38 Activities Susanne Woess-Gallasch and Bernhard Schlamadinger

2. Participating Countries 1/2 NationalCountry Team Leader Institution • Australia A. Cowie State Forests New South Wales • Austria B. Schlamadinger Joanneum Research S. Woess-Gallasch • 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 • Ireland K. Byrne University College Dublin

3. Participating Countries 1/2 Country National TeamInstitution 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

4. Objectives • Develop, compare and make available • models for assessing GreenHouse Gas (GHG) balances • Assess the life cycle GHG balance of • bioenergy and C sequestration systems • Identify and analyze synergies between • afforestation for carbon sequestration and enhanced bioenergy use • Aid decision makers • in selecting mitigation strategies to optimize GHG benefits • Assist in the implementation • of LULUCF articles of the Kyoto Protocol • Contribute to work • of the IPCC and national agencies related to GHG inventories (C sequestration, wood products, bioenergy)

5. Key activities 1/2 • Online Bibliography: GHG Balances of Bioenergy, Forestry, Wood Products, Land Use, and Land-Use Change • Standard Methodology for GHG Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems • Project-based GHG Accounting: Guiding Principles with a Focus on Baselines and Additionality

6. Key activities 2/2 • Position papers • Workshops • Workshop documentation: • hardcopies • streaming videos and PPT files on website • Task Website: documentation of all activities, e.g. “Methodological toolbox” • Methods • Models • Data • Case studies

7. Task 38 Workshop • Rotorua, New Zealand, (March 22-25, 2004): • Conference on The role of Carbon Sequestration and Bioenergy in national and international Greenhouse-Gas Markets • Field Tour

8. Next Task 38 Workshop in Canada • Victoria / Vancouver, Canada (September 13 –16) • Joint workshop with Canadian Government: • Forest Carbon Sequestration-Carbon Market Trading Topics: • Canada´s Carbon Accounting and Reporting System • Canada´s GHG Offset Trading System • Afforestation and fast growing plantation domestic initiatives • Field course • Afforestation carbon management and monitoring protocols • ½ day NGO workshop

9. Task 38 work 2001 - 2003 • Completed work: • Frequently Asked Questions paper • Task 38 Folder • Case Studies • Soil Carbon Paper • Ongoing work: • Country reports • Trading Biomass, Bio-electricity,Green Certificates, or CO2 Credits

10. Frequently Asked Questions • Covers • Bioenergy • carbon sinks and • global climate change • Informs • Industry • Scientists • policy makers • interested public • 10.000 distributed worldwide • Available • from website:www.joanneum.at/iea-bioenergy-task38

11. Country Reports – information concerning bioenergy and LULUCF • General description of energy system, GHG balance and LULUCF situation • Policies and measures at national, regional and local levels • Bioenergy and carbon sequestration research projects and programmes • Covers all 13 participating countries www.joanneum.at/iea-bioenergy-task38/countryreports/

12. 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 • Recommend options for optimization • 8 case studies for 9 participating countries

13. Case Studies – GHG balances 2/2 • Australia: co-firing biomass with coal; wood fired power plant using timber plantations; • Canada: pyrolysis plant for bio-Oil production using sawmill residues and thinnings; • Finland and Sweden: use of timber for housing construction and wood residues for energy; • Ireland: peat use for energy • New Zealand: bioenergy CHP plant using sawmill residues; • UK: small scale heating systems using conventional forestry and Miscanthus; • Croatia: biodiesel in the Joint Implementation context; • USA: anaerobic digestion

14. Soil carbon paper What are the soil carbon changes due to biomass production systems? • Review: • natural processes • impacts of farming and forestry • potential impacts of bioenergy systems • management practices to promote soil carbon • monitoring soil carbon • Modelling: • soil carbon changes for several bioenergy systems • impact on total systems GHG balance

15. Policy Relevant Information: • Cooperating with FAO on bioenergy issues in the CDM • Linking of bioenergy projects with emission trading systems • Contributing to IEA study on biofuels • Responding to scientific/technical inquiries from participating countries

16. Austria: 2/3 Fuel cycle analysis – Biodiesel

17. BIOMITRE – Online Calculator Online at: www.joanneum.at/biomitre/asp/biodiesel.asp

18. New Task programme 2004-2006: • Developing of GHG estimation tools • Analysis of other bio-products • e.g. biomass-based hydrogen, ethanol, methanol • Analysis of systems with multiple outputs • e.g. bio-refinery, biomaterials • Case studies of domestic, JI and CDM projects • Policy relevant activities • Policies that encourage bioenergy and C sequestration • Support for negotiations for carbon sinks beyond 2012 • Bioenergy and emissions trading

19. Task 38

20. Task 38 Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems www.joanneum.at/iea-bioenergy-task38

21. Task 38 Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems www.joanneum.at/iea-bioenergy-task38