How to Compute Whether Biomass Fuels Are Carbon Neutral

Abstract

Based on recent interest and on the importance of the ongoing climate change catastrophe, this article provides the basics of global carbon cycle modelling as required for the assessment of the degree of carbon neutrality of biomass energy, and its underlying dynamics. It is aimed at clarifying the question “Are biomass fuels carbon neutral?”. The “Combined Energy and Biosphere Model” (CEBM) computes annual carbon flows including growth and decay of plants on 2.5 × 2.5° grid elements of the continents’ surface and offers detailed results on the changes of after implementation of large-scale biomass energy strategies worldwide. The main (and possibly unexpected) effect is the long-term depletion of the soil organic compartment after extraction of biomass fuels. When comparing CEBM model runs using (i) biomass energy sources and (ii) carbon-free energy sources (such as solar or wind), it becomes quantitatively clear already on the theoretical level (i.e., even without taking into account efficiency losses) that biomass is only “half as carbon neutral” as ideally assumed, to express a rule of thumb—mainly because of soil carbon depletion. Still, biomass energy will play an important role when fighting global warming, even if efforts to lower energy demand are preferable as a fundamental strategy.