Does bioenergy increase CO2 emissions more than burning coal?

Alasdair talks to John Sterman about his groundbreaking research that found burning wood for energy will "increase atmospheric CO2 for at least a century".

John Sterman is the Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the Director of the MIT System Dynamics Group and the Director of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. His team developed a model for dynamic bioenergy lifecycle analysis, which he hoped would prove burning "wood was part of the solution" for the climate. Instead, "it came out the other way".

Further reading:

·         Professor Sterman’s paper about the outcomes from his bioenergy modelling
·         More details on the study, in reply to a comment on the paper
·         En-Roads, MIT Sustainability Initiative’s interactive climate simulator that allows users to explore the impacts of different climate policies
·       Read more about bioenergy and BECCS, and listen to more podcasts on the topic, in Land & Climate's bioenergy hub

Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.