From Fibre Basket to Fibre Boiler: Climate Change, Bioenergy, and Making Waste in the Political Forest

The use of renewable forms of energy, such as bioenergy produced from wood pellets, can serve to offset fossil fuel use and, hence, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union is the world’s largest user of wood pellets and British Columbia has been one of its largest external suppliers. British Columbia is currently grappling with the largest mountain pine beetle outbreak in its history. While this outbreak is expected to decrease the future timber supply in the Province, it has been suggested that one potential benefit of the mountain pine beetle outbreak is that it may provide a large amount of biomass that can be used for bioenergy production. Here we evaluate estimates of the amount of biomass available for bioenergy production in British Columbia and quantify the effects of the mountain pine beetle infestation on wood pellet feedstock supply chains. Our results, though subject to significant uncertainties, suggest that mountain pine beetle-killed wood is unlikely to be a substantial constituent of wood pellet feedstocks unless substantial subsidies are provided to offset higher harvesting costs. Even if such subsidies are implemented, it is likely that harvest residues will constitute an increasing proportion of wood pellet feedstocks as the volume of beetle-killed wood becomes depleted. Therefore, it is imperative that wood pellet producers improve the cost efficiency of harvest residue collection if they are to remain competitive in the European marketplace.

In the present study the physical properties of wood pellets produced in British Columbia for a period of 1.5 years were studied. The wood pellets were procured from Fibreco Export Inc., North Vancouver, BC, Canada, a local shipping company and a leading supplier of wood chips and pellets to major countries in Europe. Pellets were collected at the shipping point approximately for every 1.5 to 2 months time period. The physical properties of the wood pellets studied were moisture content, bulk & tapped density, pellet density, durability, percent fines, calorific value and ash content. The variability in the measured data was measured using standard deviation. Results indicated that the pellet properties moisture content, bulk density, particle density, durability and percent fines were in the range of 3.5-6.5 %, 700-800 kg/m3, 800-900 kg/m3, 1125-1175 kg/m3, 65-75 %, 0.04-0.14 %, 18-19 MJ/kg and 0.2 -0.9 %. The diameter and length were in the range of 6.4-6.5 mm and 14.0 to 19.0 mm. The results also indicated that higher ash content has reduced the calorific value, bulk density, durability and length of the pellets. The pellet properties measured were found to be significantly different at P<0.001. The study indicated that the quality of the pellets produced and exported to Europe are according to the national standards. Studies on off-gas emissions like CO, CO2 and CH4 and O2 depletion from headspace were carried out using glass canisters of 270 110 mm (L D) at storage temperatures of 5-40C. Commercial refrigerators and laboratory ovens were used to for low and high temperature studies. The results indicated that the emission of off-gases CO, CO2 and CH4 and depletion of O2 in the headspace were significantly low at 5, 10 and 20 compared to 40C. At 5C the maximum CO2 and CO concentrations observed were 1000 and 500 ppm whereas at 40 the maximum CO and CO2 concentration observed were 15989 and 25456 ppm for 23 of storage period. In addition to that the O2 concentration recorded at 5 and 40C in the headspace at the end of 23 days of storage period was 19.5 % and 2.1 %. There is no significant change in wood pellet properties during storage except the durability values has reduced by 3 %.

Along with the aggravation of climate change, various weather and climate extreme events (abbreviated as climate extremes) are becoming more frequent. During the transition to the use of clean energy, the power system will show increasingly prominent features such as high ratio of clean energy, high ratio of electrification, and a high proportion of electric and electronic equipment, coupled with summer and winter load peaks. Against this backdrop, this paper studies the impacts of climate extremes on the power system using the Texas power outage as an example, and proposes general adaptation measures to cope with climate extremes. For a start, this paper reviews the power outage in Texas caused by an extreme cold wave across the North America in 2021, and conducts an in-depth analysis of its causes. Then, based on the theoretical framework of disaster risk management, this paper analyzes the weather and climate disaster risks, extreme events, exposure, and vulnerability faced by the power system in the context of climate change and extreme events. Finally, in order to build a new power system, this paper establishes an overall framework for the power system to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and summarizes the key techniques involved in power generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption, as well as key technologies in the fields of power supply, power grid, power load, and energy storage, and the strategies and measures for addressing climate change.

Global 100% energy transition by 2050: A fiction in developing economies?

Forestry is an important component of Canada’s economy with British Columbia (BC) contributing almost half to the national roundwood production. Yet, the country’s timber supply and forest economy are threatened by climate change, with increased frequency and severity of natural disturbances and changes in forest productivity. Mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks are endemic in BC, but the latest climate change-driven outbreak has resulted in a cumulative loss of over half of all merchantable pine, leading to a mid-term timber supply shortage. In this study, we investigate the potential of commercial thinning and alternative planting regimes based on species diversification and assisted species migration to mitigate the anticipated decrease in timber supply in BC. We simulated the long-term effects of these management options in a case study area in interior BC, using a toolbox that combines management- and research-oriented data and models. We found that combining commercial thinning and species diversification has the best potential to mitigate future timber supply shortages in BC. We discuss the limits of this toolbox approach and identify research needs and recommendations for future studies aiming at modelling cumulative effects of management, climate change, and natural disturbances on timber supply.

The Global Forest Trade Model (GFTM) is a partial equilibrium model of the global forest sector, with a European focus. GFTM shares the classical economic-mathematical formulation used by similar models, such as (most notably) the Global Forest Products Model and the Global Trade Model. GFTM is a stand-alone model, but designed to be fully integrated into a modelling framework for the Bioeconomy module of FISE. In particular, the GFTM will work in close cooperation with a forest resource assessment model, the European Forestry Dynamics Model (EFDM), both receiving inputs from and proving outputs to it. GFTM provides projections of consumption, production, and international trade of wood-based products (sawlogs, pulpwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels, pulp, paper, and wood pellets) for 48 countries and global sub-regions.

There has been an increased interest in utilizing renewable energy sources in district heating systems. District heating systems are centralized systems that provide heat for residential and commercial buildings in a community. While various renewable and conventional energy sources can be used in such systems, many stakeholders are interested in choosing the feasible option with the least environmental impacts. This paper evaluates and compares environmental burdens of alternative energy source options for the base–load of a district heating center in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) using the life cycle assessment method. The considered energy sources include natural gas, wood pellet, sewer heat, and ground heat. The life cycle stages considered in the LCA model cover all stages from fuel production, fuel transmission/transportation, construction, operation, and finally demolition of the district heating system. The impact categories were analyzed based on the IMPACT 2002+ method. On a life-cycle basis, the global warming effect of renewable energy options were at least 200 kgeqCO2 less than that of the natural gas option per MWh of heat produced by the base–load system. It was concluded that less than 25% of the upstream global warming impact associated with the wood pellet energy source option was due to transportation activities and about 50% of that was resulted from wood pellet production processes. In comparison with other energy options, the wood pellets option has higher impacts on respiratory of inorganics, terrestrial ecotoxicity, acidification, and nutrification categories. Among renewable options, the global warming impact of heat pump options in the studied case in Vancouver, BC, were lower than the wood pellet option due to BC's low carbon electricity generation profile. Ozone layer depletion and mineral extraction were the highest for the heat pump options due to extensive construction required for these options. Natural gas utilization as the primary heat source for district heat production implies environmental complications beyond just the global warming impacts. Diffusing renewable energy sources for generating the base–load district heat would reduce human toxicity, ecosystem quality degradation, global warming, and resource depletion compared to the case of natural gas. Reducing fossil fuel dependency in various stages of wood pellet production can remarkably reduce the upstream global warming impact of using wood pellets for district heat generation.

Winter cereal production in a Mediterranean silvoarable walnut system in the face of climate change

Climate change is a global issue affecting communities in different parts of the world. Climate change is associated with extreme weather and climate patterns that affect the general health of the environment and humanity. The causes of climate change are both natural and anthropogenic. The human induced climate change has accelerated the emission of greenhouse gases that in turn cause global warming and climate change. The international community have initiated various interventions to minimize emission of greenhouse gases in order to maintain a healthier environment for sustainable development. One such initiative and/or interventions is the energy transition strategy that involves transition from a purely fossil fuel based to renewable energy-based economy. This paper therefore looks at the energy transition in Kenya. Specifically, the paper covers energy demand and supply, Mt CO2 emission; energy transitions process; constraints and opportunities. Kenya is going through a transition period in the energy sector and at the same time the country is striving to industrialize by the year 2023 being guided by the Country’s 2010 Constitution and the Vision 2030 which aims at transforming the country into a middle level economy. It is important that as the country strives to industrialize, the energy that drives the economy should be clean to enhance cleaner energy production. The country is a signatory to the landmark agreement of COP21 held in Paris, France in 2015. The country committed to observe the requirements of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to ensure the reduction of emission of greenhouse gases and has put in place various institutional and legal frameworks towards this end. One of the most recent frameworks is the Climate Change Amendment Act, 2023. The main objective of the study is to assess the energy transition process and associated challenges. The study uses an exploratory design and employed descriptive statistics in data analysis. Data was presented in the form of tables, graphs, and themes. The result indicates that energy transition in Kenya is ongoing through specific processes and technologies. The results also confirm existing challenges and recommends sustained effort for sustainable development.

An environmental impact assessment of exported wood pellets from Canada to Europe

To be successful, actions for mitigating climate change in the forest and forest sector will not only need to be informed by the best available science, but will also require strong public and/or political acceptability. This paper presents the results of a novel analytical-deliberative engagement process that brings together stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples in participatory workshops in the interior and coastal regions of British Columbia (BC) to evaluate a set of potential forest carbon mitigation alternatives. In particular, this study examines what objectives are prioritized by stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples when discussing forest carbon mitigation in BC’s forests, as well as the perceived effectiveness of, and levels of support for, six forest-based carbon mitigation strategies. We start by describing the methodological framework involving two series of workshops. We then describe the results from the first round of workshops where participants identified 11 objectives that can be classified into four categories: biophysical, economic, social, and procedural. Afterwards, we discuss the second series of workshops, which allowed participants to evaluate six climate change mitigation strategies against the objectives previously identified, and highlight geographical differences, if any, between BC’s coastal and interior regions. Our results effectively illustrate the potential and efficacy of our novel methodology in informing a variety of stakeholders in different regions, and generating consistent results with a surprising degree of consensus on both key objectives and preference for mitigation alternatives. We conclude with policy recommendations on how to consider various management objectives during the design and implementation of forest carbon mitigation strategies.

Managing forests to increase carbon sequestration or reduce carbon emissions and using wood products and bioenergy to store carbon and substitute for other emission-intensive products and fossil fuel energy have been considered effective ways to tackle climate change in many countries and regions. The objective of this study is to examine the climate change mitigation potential of the forest sector by developing and assessing potential mitigation strategies and portfolios with various goals in British Columbia (BC), Canada. From a systems perspective, mitigation potentials of five individual strategies and their combinations were examined with regionally differentiated implementations of changes. We also calculated cost curves for the strategies and explored socio-economic impacts using an input-output model. Our results showed a wide range of mitigation potentials and that both the magnitude and the timing of mitigation varied across strategies. The greatest mitigation potential was achieved by improving the harvest utilization, shifting the commodity mix to longer-lived wood products, and using harvest residues for bioenergy. The highest cumulative mitigation of 421 MtCO2e for BC was estimated when employing the strategy portfolio that maximized domestic mitigation during 2017–2050, and this would contribute 35% of BC’s greenhouse gas emission reduction target by 2050 at less than $100/tCO2e and provide additional socio-economic benefits. This case study demonstrated the application of an integrated systems approach that tracks carbon stock changes and emissions in forest ecosystems, harvested wood products (HWPs), and the avoidance of emissions through the use of HWPs and is therefore applicable to other countries and regions.

This paper explores the potential of alternative harvesting practices (including partial cutting) to meet Visual Quality Objectives (VQOs), while providing short-term timber volumes substantially higher than is currently possible with clearcutting under the existing visual resource management (VRM) system in British Columbia. In general, public preferences decrease as visible landscape alteration increases. This has led to the impression that VQOs are a major constraint on timber supply in visually sensitive areas. However, various studies of the relationship between aesthetics and timber availability indicate that the amount of timber removed may have less influence on public preferences than the pattern and distribution of cutting. In British Columbia, the prescriptive approach to VQOs as an automatic constraint on timber supply can ignore substantial opportunities to meet these objectives with increased timber harvesting through partial cutting techniques and better landscape design. Based on B.C. Ministry of Forests perception studies, hypothetical relationships between short-term timber availability and VQO intensity at the landscape level suggest that using partial cutting in areas with more restrictive VQOs could offer at least equivalent or increased timber availability relative to conventional clearcutting. In the Arrow Forest District, initial analyses suggest that the impact of VQOs on timber availability could theoretically be reduced by as much as 10.3% if partial cutting is used in visually sensitive frontcountry situations— without sacrificing aesthetics. However, a thorough study of the advantages, disadvantages, and feasibility of these techniques is needed.

Over the past decades, there has been a megatrend regarding the international diffusion of value chain activities, such as sourcing, design, production, distribution and marketing. This leads to a notion of global value chains (GVCs), in which all the value chain activities are distributed globally. GVCs have altered the nature of specialisation and production in many sectors regarding the selection of best practices and producers; reduction of costs; availability of raw materials; and improvement in quality, of both input and output, across the global chain. Although such huge benefits and opportunities can be achieved, the associated risks are also increased due to the complexity and involvement of too many entities in the GVC network. This, especially, matters in food and agricultural value chains, which are facing a number of challenges, such as high trade barriers, strict government regulations, changing climate conditions, and fluctuations in supply and demand, as well as high risks associated with food security and safety. Underpinning this megatrend and its associated risks, managing global food value chain risks using advanced technologies is becoming important for GVC transformation. Considered as one of the most disruptive technologies of recent times, the impact of blockchain ought to be crucial to managing risks in the global food value chain. In order to make full use of blockchain, the technology is usually integrated with other innovative and emerging technologies, such as the internet of things (IoT) and big data analytics. This combination is driving a revolution in which firms are strengthening their GVCs through mitigating risks, consequently creating the safety and complete integrity of the value chains. This study is, therefore, among the few to identify the potential risks associated with GVCs and explore the significant roles of blockchain and its allied technologies in mitigating the identified global food value chain risks.

A financial analysis of the potential of dead trees from the boreal forest of eastern Canada to serve as feedstock for wood pellet export