Imposing Carbon Price Would Spur Bioenergy, Slash Emissions -- MIT Study

Bioenergy production would boom and spur steep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions if a global price is slapped on carbon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers say in a report released today.

Examining bioenergy production under a $15-per-metric-ton carbon price that would rise steadily to $59 in 2050, researchers found production hitting 150 exajoules by 2050 -- compared with below 50 exajoules without a carbon price.

Global greenhouse gas emissions would plunge 16 percent under that scenario, the report says, cautioning that the carbon price studied doesn't take into account land-use changes.  Taking into account emissions from land-use changes, including deforestation, it says greenhouse gas reduction would be nearly 60 percent from the no-carbon-price baseline.
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Increased energy prices under a carbon price would make grasses -- one of the main inputs for cellulosic ethanol -- more attractive, while cellulosic producers would face lower land costs than other biofuel producers, according to the report.  Rising electricity prices would also increase the revenue that cellulosic producers could receive from producing electricity as a co-product.

Africa and Brazil would become the largest bioenergy producers in a world where cellulosic ethanol is the main form of bioenergy, the MIT study found.

"Africa can become a key player in supplying global energy, if agricultural expertise can be transferred to this region," Winchester said.  "It has the right climate and a large amount of land, but also the potential for deforestation if policy safeguards aren't in place."
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MIT found that pricing greenhouse gas emissions from bioenergy land-use changes significantly increases the amount of greenhouse emission reductions that occur as a result of bioenergy expansion.

Pricing land use changes would prompt a global reforestation of 800 million hectares between 2010 and 2050, according to the study.  In 2050, cumulative carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions would be 37,381 million metric tons if land-use changes were priced, compared to 74,140 million metric tons if they were not.

"The report concludes that changes spurred by the carbon price, including bioenergy production, could cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than half, with a catch -- to achieve the cut, the carbon price must cover emissions from changing land use," MIT said. "Without this safeguard, deforestation becomes a major concern as forests are cleared to make way for farmland."

Read more at Imposing Carboenergy, Slash Emisson Price Would Spur Biions -- MIT Study