{"id":592,"date":"2021-06-09T08:10:51","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T22:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/?post_type=publications&p=592"},"modified":"2022-05-18T15:13:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T05:13:58","slug":"its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral","status":"publish","type":"publications","link":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t

The opinion piece \u201cThe climate change mitigation effect of bioenergy from sustainably managed forests in Central Europe\u201d by Schulze et al. (2020<\/a>) argues against putting forests into conservation, concluding that managed forests can help mitigate climate change more effectively than unmanaged forests mainly due to the potential to use end of life wood products as fuel. This is alleged to produce \u201cemission savings\u201d by substituting diesel or other energy use. However, we question some of the assumptions upon which this conclusion is based.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n
\n\t

Schulze et al.'s conclusion of a 10\u00d7 factor for climate mitigation in managed forests depends on carbon accounting sleight of hand<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\n
\n\t

Few dispute that harvested wood products may play some role in climate mitigation, but Schulze et al.'s conclusion of a 10\u00d7 factor for climate mitigation in managed forests depends on carbon accounting sleight of hand (not counting biogenic emissions and not including all carbon pools), large substitution effects and not including the time difference between emissions and regeneration. Unfortunately, it is likely to be cited in support of increased harvesting by those who crave access to Europe's last remnants of untouched natural forests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Article authors<\/h2>
\"Dr.<\/a><\/div>

Mary S. Booth<\/a><\/h3>
Dr. Mary Booth is the Director of the The Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) and a nationally-recognised advocate known for producing high-quality, data-driven arguments.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Dr<\/a><\/div>

Brendan Mackey<\/a><\/h3>
Project Director and Director of the Griffith Climate Action Beacon at Griffith University, contributing to community planning and engagement in forest projects.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Virginia<\/a><\/div>

Virginia Young<\/a><\/h3>
Virginia is a Director of the International Forests and Climate Programme for the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS) working in the international policy arena on primary forests as part of a global collaborative research programme funded through Griffith University.\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\n
\n\t

Reference<\/h3>\n

Booth, M. S., Mackey, B., & Young, V. (2020). It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral. GCB Bioenergy<\/em>, 12(12), 1036-1037.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\n
\n\t

Virginia has experience in business and the public sectors and a strong history in nature conservation. As Chair of Gondwana Link Ltd, in the south of Western Australia (Australia\u2019s first major connectivity conservation programme) she brings extensive experience in dealing with the challenges of supporting a large scale, multi-stakeholder, initiative to GER.<\/p>\n

She is currently Director of the International Forests and Climate Programme for the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS) working in the international policy arena on primary forests as part of a global collaborative research programme funded through Griffith University.\u00a0She is member of the steering committee of an international, science based collaborative initiative called IntAct \u2013 focused on increasing global attention on the climate and biodiversity imperative to protect what\u2019s left of Earth\u2019s primary forests.<\/p>\n

She was the National Forest Campaign Co-ordinator for The Wilderness Society for many years and developed a national and international campaign focus for TWS on the role of forests in mitigating climate change. During her time at The Wilderness Society she also helped pioneer a continental-scale approach to nature conservation known as WildCountry, securing major grant funding and the support of leading scientists to build the scientific and collaborative basis for the work.<\/p>\n

A past president of the Australian Committee for IUCN, she continues to support the work of IUCN through involvement in the IUCN Task Force on primary forests and intact forest landscapes. Other voluntary work includes supporting the Mikisew Cree to reduce threats to the Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Area, which protects the largest freshwater delta in the world and one of the largest forested national parks in the world. Her recent experience in the private sector was as Managing Director of Forests Alive Pty Ltd, an Australian company that helped landowners develop projects that deliver a financial return from the carbon value associated with protecting natural forests for their climate and biodiversity benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

The Australian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS) is a national, non-government, not-for-profit organization, founded in 1982, with headquarters in Brisbane, Australia. More about the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society<\/a>.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Virginia's project publications<\/h2>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Policy brief: Conservation connectivity and the biodiversity-climate nexus<\/a><\/h3>
14\/02\/2023<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
Connectivity between conservation areas is vital for protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems and can play a key role in supporting national responses to climate change, in Australia and around the world. Through a National Conservation Corridors Framework Australia could meet both climate and biodiversity outcomes and protect First Nations cultural heritage.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Forest<\/a><\/div>

Policy brief: Ecosystem integrity maximises climate mitigation and minimises risk in international forest policy<\/a><\/h3>
16\/11\/2022<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
The ecological, social and economic values of forests are widely known and avoiding their loss and degradation has been recognized in national and international policy as critical for helping address the many global problems we face. <\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Forest<\/a><\/div>

Policy brief: Carbon accounting improvements for operationalising the Glasgow Climate Pact<\/a><\/h3>
16\/11\/2022<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
The need for integrated policy action to mitigate climate change and conserve biodiversity has now been recognised in Article 38 of the Glasgow Climate Pact. This emphasises the importance of protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems, including forests and other terrestrial and marine ecosystems.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Using ecosystem integrity to maximise climate mitigation and minimise risk in international forest policy<\/a><\/h3>
16\/09\/2022<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
Rules and guidelines that treat forests equally in key international policy frameworks regardless of their risk profiles limit their effectiveness and can facilitate forest degradation. Here we assess the potential for using a framework of ecosystem integrity to guide policy goals.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Measuring<\/a><\/div>

Policy brief: Reforming carbon accounting to support of nature-based solutions<\/a><\/h3>
13\/09\/2021<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
Nature-based solutions provide opportunities for climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and ameliorating environmental degradation. But those opportunities are not materialising as current carbon accounting is deficient for use in evaluating them.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Forest<\/a><\/div>

It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral<\/a><\/h3>
09\/06\/2021<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that 'managing' forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand. <\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Primary forests are being undervalued in the climate emergency<\/a><\/h3>
02\/06\/2020<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
The world's contain irreplaceable biodiversity and are critical to the regulation of the global climate and maintaining stable carbon pools. Carbon-dense primary forests are found in every major forest biome and they typically support higher levels of biodiversity than logged forests, especially imperiled and endemic species, yet their value is not fully recognised in climate policy.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Nexus<\/a><\/div>

The Nexus Report: Nature Based Solutions to the Biodiversity and Climate Crisis<\/a><\/h3>
16\/05\/2020<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
The climate change and biodiversity crises are intertwined. The loss of biodiversity reduces the resilience of both planet and people and narrows our response options for defeating climate change. Too often, though, biodiversity and climate change are dealt with in relative isolation by governments, intergovernmental processes, and other key actors and stakeholders.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Primary forests: a priority nature-based solution<\/a><\/h3>
20\/03\/2020<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
Primary forests sequester more carbon, more safely than planted forests and offer far greater biodiversity benefits. We cannot resolve the climate or biodiversity crises without prioritising the protection of primary forests, argue members of the Primary Forests Task Force.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Logging<\/a><\/div>

Protecting primary forests<\/a><\/h3>
30\/03\/2019<\/abbr><\/span><\/div>
Brendan Mackey, Director of Griffith University's Climate Change Response Program, speaks at Woods Hole Research Center on March 21, 2019 on \"Protecting Primary Forests: How We Can Get There and Why it Affects Us All\".\r\n<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that ‘managing’ forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[6,57,39],"featured_media":595,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","researchfield":[14,25],"publicationtype":[61],"case_study":[48],"class_list":["post-592","publications","type-publications","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","researchfield-forest-carbon-accounting","researchfield-policy","publicationtype-research-letter","author-brendan-mackey","author-mary-booth","author-virginia-young","case_study-global"],"yoast_head":"\nIt\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral - Primary Forests & Climate Program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that 'managing' forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that 'managing' forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Primary Forests & Climate Program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-18T05:13:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"625\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/\",\"name\":\"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral - Primary Forests & Climate Program\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-08T22:10:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-18T05:13:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that 'managing' forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":625,\"caption\":\"Forest logging in Germany - Photo from Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/\",\"name\":\"Primary Forests & Climate Program\",\"description\":\"A project to protect the world's remaining primary forests\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral - Primary Forests & Climate Program","description":"Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that 'managing' forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral","og_description":"Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that 'managing' forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand.","og_url":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/","og_site_name":"Primary Forests & Climate Program","article_modified_time":"2022-05-18T05:13:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":625,"url":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/","url":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/","name":"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral - Primary Forests & Climate Program","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-08T22:10:51+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-18T05:13:58+00:00","description":"Some have argued that against conserving forests, alleging that 'managing' forests, including for bioenergy, produces more climate mitigation than letting them grow. However, this conclusion is based on not counting emissions from burning biomass, and other carbon accounting sleight of hand.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/jace-afsoon-5xmFg-EGhpw-unsplash.jpg","width":1000,"height":625,"caption":"Forest logging in Germany - Photo from Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/its-time-to-stop-pretending-burning-forest-biomass-is-carbon-neutral\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It\u2019s time to stop pretending burning forest biomass is carbon neutral"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/","name":"Primary Forests & Climate Program","description":"A project to protect the world's remaining primary forests","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications\/592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publications"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications\/592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":766,"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications\/592\/revisions\/766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"researchfield","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/researchfield?post=592"},{"taxonomy":"publicationtype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publicationtype?post=592"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=592"},{"taxonomy":"case_study","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case_study?post=592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}