A group of researchers, including an MSU professor, warn studies predicting the world’s natural forests will be almost gone before the end of the century might become reality unless countries change how carbon is credited.
Phil Robertson, a university distinguished professor of crop and soil sciences, worked with a group of about 12 scientists countrywide to research the U.S.’s policy to not count carbon dioxide emitted from bioenergy. Bioenergy is renewable energy created from biological sources, such as trees.
Robertson said the U.S.’s lack of action could lead people to think replacing forests with fields of biofuel crops will reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than if the forest remains standing.
An article detailing the group’s research was published Oct. 23 in Science, an international weekly journal of science.
“If we’re going to use (clearing forests) for climate mitigation, then we need to have the arguments right,” Robertson said. “This error needed to be pointed out before the error gets cemented into legislation.”
Under the country’s current carbon counting measures, Robertson said carbon dioxide emitted from bioenergy is not counted. He said forests are cleared to grow biofuel crops, which can be used as fuel alternatives to gasoline.
Robertson said carbon is stored in trees and soil as biomass, which is released once trees are cleared. He said the biofuel crops would not capture enough carbon to offset the amount released into the atmosphere by clear-cutting forests.
“If carbon isn’t calculated correctly in the legislation, then the legislation will have no effect on carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” Robertson said. “The problem is if we don’t correct these problems early, we’ll be overselling the promise (of biofuel crops) and possibly suffering a backlash that will hurt the entire industry 10 years from now or sooner.”
Timothy Searchinger, a researcher at Princeton University, said he and other scientists began to focus on the counting exemption in March, as discussions about climate control legislation began to heat up in the U.S. One solution is to count all pollution, including that produced by bioenergy sources, he said.
“It’s important legislation goes through in some form,” Searchinger said. “Otherwise, we’re not going to deal with climate change, but it’s very important this be fixed.”
Ted Dodge, the executive director of the National Carbon Offset Coalition, or NCOC, said he believes the current carbon accounting measures work.
NCOC is a Butte, Mont.-based nonprofit organization that helps farmers, ranchers, private forest owners, tribes and state governments sell carbon credits acquired from their land.
“The bottom line is I don’t see this as an issue,” Dodge said. “I think it’s really conjecture on their part right now. I’m not going out and paying people to plant on lands that were harvested.”
All Content © Copyright 2009, The State News
