Delayed use of bioenergy crops might threaten climate and food security

Abstract

The potential of mitigation actions to limit global warming within 2 °C1 might rely on the abundant supply of biomass for large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) that is assumed to scale up significantly in the future 2-5 . However, the detrimental effects of climate change on crop yields may reduce the capacity of BECCS and threaten food security 6-8 , thus creating an unrecognized positive feedback loop on global warming. We quantified the strength of this feedback by implementing the responses of crop yields to increases in growingseason temperature, atmospheric CO2 concentration and intensity of nitrogen (N) fertilization in a compact Earth system model 9 . Exceeding a threshold of climate change would cause transformative changes in social-ecological systems by jeopardizing climate stability and threatening food security. If global mitigation alongside large-scale BECCS is delayed to 2060 when global warming exceeds ~2.5 °C, then the yields of agricultural residues for BECCS would be too low to meet the Paris goal of 2 °C by 2200. This risk of failure is amplified by the sustained demand for food, leading to an expansion of cropland or intensification of N fertilization to compensate for climate-induced yield losses. Our findings thereby reinforce the urgency of early mitigation, preferably by 2040, to avoid irreversible climate change and serious food crises unless other negative-emission technologies become available in the near future to compensate for the reduced capacity of BECCS.

Divergent Energy-Climate Nexus in the Global Fuel Combustion Processes

“…The scenario is supposed to finally have a warming impact in comparison to the baseline scenario, whereas scenario exhibits a cooling effect, which is displayed in Figure S2. In addition to the enhancement of the earth’s radiation as the most apparent negative feedback, global warming would also lead to a slew of other direct and/or indirect feedback effects, which are not completely captured in this study. , The feedback process needs to be studied and evaluated later with comprehensive quantitative models available. , …”

“…The earth system model OSCAR v3.1 is used for the simulation of the climate system since the industrialization (1750∼). The model included all necessary components to simulate the past and future climate change, which has been widely used to study the contribution of human activity to climate, ,, and also applied to IPCC AR6 to study the response of future climate to multiple scenarios. All dynamic changes of different climate forcers are described by parametric equations with sources and sinks.…”

Immersive Experience and Climate Change Monitoring in Digital Landscapes: Evidence from Somatosensory Sense and Comfort

“…Xu (2018), Chang (2015) and Yu (2017) believe that the idea of “unity of nature and man” is the basis of contemporary ecological construction, and that the cultural heritage protection of traditional Chinese villages should apply the philosophy of “unity of nature and man” [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Singh et al (2020) and Chadalavada et al (2021) believe that environmental change will affect grain yield, and Xu (2022) strives to capture and store CO 2 on a large scale through a BECCS model [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Scholars have extracted ancient ecological protection theories from the landscape patterns of traditional villages, and some authors have used ancient trees in cultural heritage projects as an intermediary to explore theoretical methods of environmental protection.…”

Complete Low‐Temperature Transformation and Dissolution of the Three Main Components in Corn Straw

“…This includes corn straw, which is usually burned and thus causes environmental pollution and damages to the ecological balance of the soil. [ 4 , 5 , 6 ] The effective utilization of such raw materials has aroused great interests of researchers. Biorefineries utilize various components of biomass and its intermediates to maximize the value derived from the biomass feedstock, and carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicellulose) and lignin have been widely used in bioenergy and chemicals, such as, industries related to food production, pulp and paper industries, liquid and gas biofuels for road transport, aviation and shipping, all of which are remarkable examples of promising bio‐refining.…”

“…It is reported that about 900 million tons of agricultural and forestry wastes are produced in China per year. This includes corn straw, which is usually burned and thus causes environmental pollution and damages to the ecological balance of the soil [4–6] . The effective utilization of such raw materials has aroused great interests of researchers.…”