U.S.-FocUSed Biochar report - BioEnergy Lists

ut certainly advances here will impact the future of biomass in general. 54 , 55Soil science progress. We have much to learn on why Biochar improves soil productivity. We should see significantyield improvement as soil scientists (and practitioners/amateurs) are able to perform more experimentswith well understood “boutique” chars. 56Present large use of biomass for energy. Biomass energy production is today worldwide a largercontributor to global energy need than either nuclear or hydro energy, much less wind and solar.Starting from a large base allows rapid growth worldwide that will have a US influence as well.Existing expertise. A large portion of the US workforce is already trained in agricultural and forestry. Organizationslike 25 x 25 have endorsed Biochar. The agricultural sector is a powerful lobby.The US is not alone. The views of other countries, especially developing countries, generally favor Biochar.The action of the UNCCD in UNFCCC deliberations was a helpful sign. 57 Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany(and possibly Japan and Canada) have larger Biochar programs than the US.Reasons for pessimism: There is a dwindling supply of key nutrients. Biochar can help, but possibly notenough on some, such as phosphorous. There will be increasing competition for a limited supply of water. Populationpressures will take over more land for housing. More mouths to feed will keep some land from beingused for Biochar. Drastic climate change could occur, with increasing temperatures and sea levels also reducingland availability and yields. Biochar will always be in competition for residues and land. Some still-unidentifiedcarbon dioxide removal (CDR) technology could prove superior in some way. Bioenergy/biofuels could win thebiomass resource competition if CDR is not taken on as a national goal.5.6.3 Policy Issues that Relate to a BBTVCarbon credits. By far the most important policy driver will be the presence of carbon credits – the subject of aseparate section. The biomass availabilities of this section assume these credits.National major policy topics. The BBTV exercise, unlike the predecessor BTV, was performed with the specificassumption of new favorable policies. But there are many aspects of Biochar that will benefit from policiesfor other current national “crisis” areas. Jobs, peak oil/gas, oil spills, coal requiring CCS; national security, recognitionof the capability for any biomass operation to support solar and wind; rising concerns about sustainabledevelopment, etc. We have identified no major current policy discussion that seems likely to slow down Biochar.Carbon negativity. One very important policy gap is the lack of any national goal related to carbon negativity.The existing carbon-neutral policy approaches are absolutely critical, but they will not achieve the early goal of350 ppm espoused by Bill McKibben 58 and Jim Hansen. 59 The recently concluded Cochabamba conference calledfor 300 ppm. Unfortunately, that conference also rejected Biochar for reasons discussed in the next subsection. 60Certification. Emphasis on standards and certification for biofuels will advance Biochar. Many standards havebeen developed with Federal funding support.Geoengineering Geoengineering discussions are taking on increasing importance for Biochar and vice-versa.The recently concluded “Asilomar Conference” considered Biochar quite seriously. 61 Most of geoengineering’scontroversy has been about Solar Radiation Management (SRM), not the less well-studied CDR into which Biocharfits. A better umbrella might be the term “Biosequestration” or “Biomimicry-driven carbon reduction.” The54 http://www.arborgen.us/55 http://www.isaaa.org/56 http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=096533657 http://www.biochar-international.org/policy/international58 http://www.biochar-international.org/biochar/carbon; http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4418/59 http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/TargetCO2_20080407.pdf; http://www.re-char.com/2009/06/25/dr-james-hansen-on-biochar-and-soil-based-sequestration/60 http://pwccc.wordpress.com/61 http://www.climateresponsefund.org/Biochar GHG reduction accounting in: Potential Biochar Greenhouse Gas Reductions63