THE TIMING OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM BIOENERGY SYSTEMS USING FINANCIAL TYPE INDICATORS AND TERMINOLOGY TO DISCUSS EMISSION PROFILES FROM BIOENERGY

摘要

Bioenergy systems in the long-term reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to fossil energysystems. This is one of the reasons that there is such interest currently in bioenergy. However, as has been pointed outby many authors, in the short-term the introduction of a bioenergy system can cause more emissions that itscomparable fossil energy system and that these emissions are recovered over time by the bioenergy system. Thecombined profiles typically display an initial period with net positive emissions followed by period of net negativeemissions. These profiles share the same characteristics as a typical investment cases. First there are initial costsassociated with investments, which are followed by income and profit. In fact, authors have used the term “carbonpay-back time” to describe this feature. In this short paper, the authors raise the question if adaption of terms andmethods from financial theory may be of use to understanding the dynamic GHG characteristics of bioenergysystems. A short introduction to key financial theory concepts is provided. The potential adaption of the theory tobioenergy GHG metrics is explored and discussed.