6.2 Resource Use in the Context of Climate Change Mitigation - Effects of Complexity and Uncertainty
6.3.5 Conclusions and Outlook
Existing approaches to assessing C, which are used to analyze biomass conversion chains, have some critical issues to address. These include external effects, such as changes in the underlying assumptions. Robust indicators for decision support for biomass use are needed. We proposed Carbon Utilization Degree CUDe as an indicator that represents the efficient use of carbon as a production factor in biomass conversion processes for energetic and material use. This indicator could reflect a paradigm shift that CO2 is not a threat but a finite resource that requires suitable management. CUDe, as a supplementary indicator for existing methods, could aid in the design of policies for biomass transformation pathways by defining threshold values for efficient carbon use in conversion processes. The approach needs additional testing to prove its applicability even to more complex pathways than those provided in this manuscript.
Acknowledgments
English grammar and expressions were improved by AJE. Three anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments.
Author Contributions
Anja Hansen and Jörn Budde developed the idea and the methodological concept; Anja Hansen prepared the case studies, figures and wrote most of the paper. Jörn Budde, Yusuf Nadi Karatay and Annette Prochnow contributed to the discussion of the concept and to the organization and phrasing of the manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:
C: Carbon
CF: Characterization factor CH4: Methane
CHP: Combined Heat and Power
Cemissions: Carbon in gaseous losses, e.g., in CO2 or CH4
Cin: Carbon content in biomass dry matter that enters the biomass conversion chain Cinter: Carbon in intermediate products
CO2: Carbon dioxide
Cproductive: Carbon that becomes productive in a wide anthropocentric view Cproducts: Carbon in final products and co-products
CSF: Carbon Stability Factor CUDe: Carbon Utilization Degree [%]
Cwaste: Carbon in waste, e.g., in production waste EU ETS: European Union Emissions Trading System GDP: Gross Domestic Product
GHG: Greenhouse Gas(es) GWP: Global Warming Potential(s) L.: Carl von Linné (botanical author citation) LCA: Life Cycle Assessment
NPP: Net Primary Production NEP: Net Ecosystem Production Appendix A
Table A1. Overview of some productivity approaches dealing with carbon. CUDe—Carbon Utilization Degree, CSF—Carbon Stability Factor, GDP—Gross Domestic Product, GHG—Greenhouse Gases, MACC—Marginal Abatement Cost Curves, NPP/NEP—Net Primary Productivity/Net
Ecosystem Productivity, S&P/IFCI—Standard & Poor’s International Finance Corporation Indexes.
Online http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/10/1028/htm (and as Table 4.6 in this document) 6.3.6 References
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