Annette Cowie, Ruy Anaya de la Rosa, Miguel Brandão

The role of carbon markets in

supporting adoption of biochar

Task 38

Emissions trading – Why?

Woolf et al 2010 Technical potential: 6 Gt CO2-e pa

Emissions trading –

Why?

• Market provides cheapest abatement

• Encourages innovation

• Offsets: flexibility

• No net gain?

• Progressively tighten cap

Emissions trading – How? • Mandatory Cap and Trade, or Baseline

and Credit

• National, Regional:

– European ETS, California, RGGI

• Voluntary action

• “Direct Action”:

– Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund

Abatement projects market

– Kyoto Protocol Clean Development

Mechanism

– Verified Carbon Standard etc

– Carbon Farming Initiative (Australia)

Annual emissions / removals

Inventory reporting

UNFCCC

All parties

GHG accounting

Kyoto Protocol

Annex I parties

Sectoral boundaries

National scale

IPCC Guidelines

International context

Offsets

Project credits

Businesses

LCA

Carbon labels

Products or

organisations

Cradle to grave boundaries

Farm/forest scale

Scheme Guidelines, Standards

Emissions reduction, removal enhancement

Industry context

Carbon market requires that abatement projects are:

Measurable

Verifiable

Permanent

Additional

Conservative

Consistent with international policy

Supported by peer-reviewed science,

And must minimise or account for leakage

Offset projects: What matters?

Purpose:

Provide credible flexibility option in emissions

trading

Accurate?

Conservative ?

Consistent

Credit only intentional abatement

Right incentive

Is it measurable?

Quantifying abatement from biochar

Quantifying abatement – Methodologies

A methodology must include:

• description of the abatement activity

• description of the GHG sources and sinks affected by

the project

• procedure for determining a baseline which represents

emissions and removals that would occur in the absence

of the project

• procedure for estimating abatement relative to the

baseline

• data collection and monitoring requirements, and

• reporting and record keeping requirements.

Transport

Soil

amendment

Pyrolysis to

biochar and

syngas

Distribution of

biochar

Distribution of

energy carrier

Energy service

(heat, electricity)

Biomass

residue

Project

Transport

Biomass

residue

Fossil

energy/carbon

source

Extraction

Conversion to

energy carrier

Distribution of

energy carrier

Energy service

(heat, electricity)

Soil

amendment

Fertiliser

manufacture

Landfill

Baseline

Distribution of

fertiliser

Cowie et al, 2015

GHG sources and sinks for biochar project

Delayed oxidation of biomass

Avoided CH4 and N2O emissions eg from landfill or manure handling and application

Reduced N2O emissions from soil

Increased soil organic matter (negative priming)

Increased plant growth

Reduced fuel use in cultivation, irrigation

Avoided emissions from fossil fuels and/or electricity generation due to the use of co-products as renewable energy

Avoided emissions from N fertiliser manufacture

Is it measurable?

Quantifying abatement from biochar

No-till

Soil carbon measurement

Nitrous oxide measurement

Quantifying abatement

Do we need to monitor it?

Balance accuracy against transaction costs

• Cost-effective accounting

– Based on accepted models

– Credit based on modelled estimate rather

than measured impact of practice

Index of biochar stability

BC+100 – The fraction of carbon present in biochar that

is expected to remain in soil for at least 100 years

when added to soil

Indicator: H/Corg

BC+100 stability conversion values (ACR, 2013)

Biochar BC+100 factor in correlation with H:Corg ratios

BC+100 H:Corg

70% <0.4

50% 0.4-0.7

0 >0.7

Cayuela et al, 2015

Consistent internationally?

Avoided fossil fuels

Avoided methane

Reduced nitrous oxide

How to count carbon stabilisation through pyrolysis?

Avoided /delayed decomposition

Soil carbon enhancement?

Agriculture and forest soils only?

GHG sources and sinks for biochar project

Delayed oxidation of biomass

Avoided CH4 and N2O emissions eg from manure handling and application

Reduced N2O emissions from soil

Increased soil organic matter (neg priming)

Increased plant growth

Reduced fuel use in cultivation, irrigation

Avoided emissions from fossil fuels and/or electricity generation due to the use of co-products as renewable energy

Avoided emissions from N fertiliser manufacture

?

?

x

/x

/x

/x

Are ‘life cycle’ emissions considered?

For example:

Extra fossil fuel use

in transport,

processing into

biochar (construction,

operation of pyrolysis

plant)

Emissions eg

methane from

pyrolysis?

Priming of SOM?

Are indirect emissions (leakage) considered?

Increase in emissions elsewhere as a result of the project,

should be included in project accounting

Eg:

Biomass depleted at another site?

Is it verifiable?

Verification MUCH easier if

Eligibility based on implementing specified practice

rather than measured abatement

Quantification based on modelled estimate rather than

measured abatement

Is it permanent abatement?

“abatement should represent a permanent

reduction in CO2 in the atmosphere”

Permanence obligation not relevant for emissions reduction aspects

Removals are vulnerable to reversal

“Permanent” = 100 years

Additionality

Is it new abatement?

(“Abatement should be “additional” to “business-as-

usual” if it used to offset emissions”)

Goes beyond common practice?

Not required by law?

Will it be an effective measure?

Sufficiently attractive to encourage participation?

Costs vs returns

Record keeping

“Monitoring”

Reporting

Audit

Long term liability (sink projects)

Certainty and absolute accuracy not required

Minimise transaction costs so encourage participation,

to maximise abatement

Scheme

Administrator

Pool Manager

Role of aggregator

Sequestration / emissions reduction Pool

Producer

One

Producer

Two Producer

Three

Verification

Registry

Abatement calculation,

Record keeping

Role of government

Accept risk – manage buffer

eg 5% of estimated abatement

Act as aggregator:

maximise the pool size,

minimise transaction costs

Emphasise multiple benefits

– Avoid GHG emissions

– Reduce health risks

– Enhance productivity, food security

– Close nutrient cycle

– Provide alternative livelihoods

– Manage waste

– Enhance sustainability

– Bundling benefits

Life cycle sustainability issues

Sourcing of the biomass feedstock

Handling of the biomass feedstock

Conversion of the biomass feedstock into biochar

Handling and application of biochar into soils

Effects of biochar application into soils

habitat

biofuel

fibreboard

Soil

carbon

biochar

biochemicals

Biochar versus other options

Sustainable land management involving biochar

vs

Reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+)

Afforestation / Reforestation

Harvested wood products

Wood harvest and storage (WHS) and crop residue oceanic permanent sequestration (CROPS)

Bioenergy

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

Dominic Woolf

Cf Meyer et al EST:

Bioenergy systems achieve

99−119% of the climate

benefit of biochar

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

20 40 60 80 100 120

Year

Carb

on

t/h

a

Trees

Trees + products

Trees + products +

biochar + bioenergy

Unharvested

Potential mitigation through wood products, bioenergy and biochar

Sustainability issues for biochar – direct (1)

Biomass procurement

Residues:

Soil erosion

Soil compaction

Nutrient depletion

Soil carbon loss (GHG, productivity

impact)

Purpose grown:

Water use

Biomass and/or soil carbon decline

GHG balance - N2O emissions

Biochar production

GHG emissions

particulate emissions

Biochar application

dust

contamination (if feedstock contaminated)

Whole system:

net mitigation benefit (incl transport, plant

construction)

financial viability

Sustainability issues for biochar – direct (2)

Indirect land use change

Land clearing

Fire

Drainage of peatlands

Environmental

GHG emissions: loss of biomass carbon, soil carbon

Biodiversity

Air pollution

Water quality

Social – displacement, food security

Economic – competing uses

Sustainability issues for biochar – indirect

Biochar should…

deliver net environmental benefit across the whole life cycle,

incl climate change impact, water, biodiversity.

be made from sustainably harvested and renewable biomass

resources.

be produced in a facility that controls emissions, & preferably

harnesses energy output for efficient beneficial use.

maintain or enhance essential environmental services such as

water and air quality, protection of soil resources, conservation

of biodiversity

contribute to sustainable development and alleviation of

poverty

How can we encourage sustainability?

Sustainability framework approach:

Institutional systems:

Regulation

Incentives

Standards

Guidelines

Certification

Monitoring, assessment and

reporting

Criteria and Indicators

Adaptive management

Role of science

Research aimed at generalised understanding (across

environments)

Models - tools for estimating abatement based on

easily measured variables

Credibility:

Confidence of the market, of policy-makers

Consider your audience: what’s the key message ?

Task 38

What is the best use of biomass resources?

Task 38

How can land be used to produce biomass

without compromising other needs?

Can biochar enhance productivity?

Prospects for biochar projects?

Credible ?

Additional

“Measurable”

Manage permanence

Manage leakage ?

Verifiable

Biochar in the carbon market?

Can we do it?

Accepted concept

Accepted methodology

Should we do it?

Effective mitigation measure

Life cycle mitigation value

Alternative options

Other environmental and social benefits

Risks managed

Standards, certification

annette.cowie@dpi.nsw.gov.au