Developing sustainable bioenergy systems with local bio-resources: cases in Asia

Abstract

The concept of sustainability science is paramount to establish a development thinking with deep and thorough considerations of hybridized on-ground realities shaped by the interplay of energy, land, economic, and climatic elements. This special feature intends to engage sustainability science in understanding the role of bioenergy in sustainable development, particularly for cases in East Asia. Especially, it encourages potential works that carefully consider perspectives of different stakeholders, including communicating with both experts and non-experts and integrating knowledge from different disciplines like forestry, social studies, or energy system sciences. It aims to create the context for motivating the society in tackling the sustainability issues related to energy, forest, and society.

Global implications of crop‐based bioenergy with carbon capture and storage for terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity

“…Regardless of how the biodiversity trade‐off between LUC and mitigated climate change from crop‐based BECCS would unfold, mitigating climate change without conversion of natural land would have lower impacts on biodiversity. As outlined in the introduction, BECCS based on lower impact biomass feedstocks can be prioritized, that is BECCS based on biomass wastes and residues (Daioglou et al, 2015 ; Hanssen et al, 2019 ; Pour et al, 2018 ), sustainable forestry (Dale, Kline, et al, 2015 ; Goh et al, 2020 ; Hanssen et al, 2020 ; Lundmark et al, 2016 ; Peura et al, 2018 ) or cultivated biomass on marginal or abandoned agricultural lands (Campbell et al, 2008 ; Gelfand et al, 2013 ) using biodiverse, local and high‐yielding mixtures of species (Robertson et al, 2017 ; Tilman et al, 2006 ). Furthermore, dietary change (i.e.…”

“…In addition, crop cultivation for BECCS could compete for land with food production (Doelman et al, 2018 ; Fujimori et al, 2019 ; Hasegawa et al, 2018 , 2020 ). Other biomass feedstocks with lower impacts are therefore more attractive for BECCS, including (i) wastes and residues from agriculture and forestry (Daioglou et al, 2015 ; Hanssen et al, 2019 ; Pour et al, 2018 ), (ii) biomass from sustainably managed forests, for example with selective logging or continuous cover forestry (Dale, Kline, et al, 2015 ; Goh et al, 2020 ; Hanssen et al, 2020 ; Lundmark et al, 2016 ; Peura et al, 2018 ) or (iii) cultivated biomass specifically grown on marginal or abandoned agricultural lands (Campbell et al, 2008 ; Gelfand et al, 2013 ) using biodiverse, local and high‐yielding mixtures of species (Robertson et al, 2017 ; Tilman et al, 2006 ).…”

Bioenergy sustainability in the global South: Constraints and opportunities

“…The GBEP bioenergy sustainability framework applies social, economic and environmental sustainability principles with eight measurable Bioenergy has emerged as a primary means to achieve GHG reduction targets, ensure energy security by reducing fossil-fuel dependency and save foreign exchange by leveraging economic development. In this context, bioenergy sustainability has received considerable attention to address its challenges (GBEP 2011;Goh et al 2020) and encourage use and reaping of benefits.…”