Biomass carbon neutrality

The WBCSD Forest Solutions Group released a report providing a framework for understanding carbon neutrality. The Issue Brief: Biomass Carbon Neutrality distills and synthesizes the complexity of the debate and underlines the importance of carbon neutrality in public policy. Using biomass-derived fuels and materials instead of more fossil fuel-intensive alternatives is one approach to mitigating increases in atmospheric CO2. However, the benefits of using biomass are under question, with the debate often centered on whether biomass is “carbon neutral”. There is no widely accepted definition for “carbon neutrality” and different people understand it to have different meanings. The concept of carbon neutrality is important in public policy efforts to address climate change and potentially affects the forest-based industry. Depending on how carbon neutrality is understood and applied, policies may favor or disfavor the use and development of forest products and may affect traditional as well as emerging uses of forest products and biomass.

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