Abstract
In order to understand the climate effects of a bioenergy
system, a comparison between the bioenergy system and a
reference system is required. The reference system
describes the situation that occurs in the absence of the
bioenergy system with respect to the use of land, energy,
and materials. The importance of reference systems is
discussed in the literature but guidance on choosing
suitable reference systems for assessing climate effects
of bioenergy is limited. The reference system should
align with the purpose of the study. Transparency of
reference system assumptions is essential for proper
interpretation of bioenergy assessments. This paper
presents guidance for selecting suitable reference
systems. Particular attention is given to choosing the
land reference. If the goal is to study the climate
effects of bioenergy as a part of total anthropogenic
activity the reference system should illustrate what is
expected in the absence of human activities. In such a
case the suitable land reference is natural regeneration,
and energy or material reference systems are not
relevant. If the goal is to assess the effect of a change
in bioenergy use, the reference system should incorporate
human activities. In this case suitable reference systems
describe the most likely alternative uses of the land,
energy and materials in the absence of the change in
bioenergy use. The definition of the reference system is
furthermore subject to the temporal scope of the study.
In practice, selecting and characterizing reference
systems will involve various choices and uncertainties
which should be considered carefully. It can be
instructive to consider how alternative reference systems
influence the results and conclusions drawn from
bioenergy assessments.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2271-2280 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |
Volume | 81 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- bioenergy
- climate effect
- land use
- reference system