Even though there are still a few skeptics out there, we were excited to learn that the current draft of the American Power Act acknowledges the potential role biochar can play in capturing CO2 during the biomass combustion process. Whether or not this language will end up in the final draft of the APA that will land on Bo’s desk for approval remains to be seen. By the way, the last we heard the legislation would be submitted for debate in the fall.
Below is the excerpt provided by Victoria Kamsler, Chair of the Biochar Offset Group out of Toronto, Canada. The group has been actively lobbying G8 summit leaders set to meet in Canada this month to offset their emissions by contributing to a global biochar project development fund.
Source: Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development
Published Wednesday, 19 May, 2010 – 14:04
US Senate Climate Bill: “Achieving Fast Mitigation” Through Non-CO2 Strategies
The Senate climate bill unveiled last week by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) contains a section entitled “Achieving Fast Mitigation” to address non-CO2 climate forcers, including black carbon soot, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These non-CO2 greenhouse gases and pollutants, together with others like ground-level ozone, make up 40-50 percent of total climate forcing.
In order to bring atmospheric levels of CO2 back down to the safer zone of 350 parts per million, and keep global temperature rise below 2˚C, the world will also need to start implementing carbon-negative strategies. Expanding biochar production is one such strategy which could provide up to 3.67 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent in climate mitigation per year by 2040, using only waste biomass, and perhaps as much as 20 to 35 billion tonnes per year if plantation-grown biomass is used. The Kerry-Lieberman bill will “provide grants to up to 60 facilities to conduct research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy biochar production technology for the purpose of sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.”
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