Wood Fuel, Carbon Markets, and Black Carbon
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Date
2011-11-02
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Master of Natural Resources Professional Papers (North Carolina State University. College of Natural Resources)
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North Carolina State University. College of Natural Resources
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Khopkar, Akhilesh. Master of Natural Resources – International Resources Technical Option. Wood Fuel, Carbon Markets, and Black Carbon
Interest in controlling black carbon emissions is increasing due to better understanding of their role in climate change. Unlike other greenhouse gases (GHG), black carbon (BC) is primarily emitted in developing countries such as China and India. Thus, effective mitigation would have to involve developing countries currently participating in climate change mitigation primarily through “carbon offset” markets, both under Kyoto and through voluntary markets. This raises the question of how a market or some other funding mechanism for black carbon mitigation would interact with the existing initiatives to mitigate GHG. I focus specifically on the wood energy sector and the residential energy sector, examining the existing portfolio of projects that seek to mitigate climate change by modifying use of wood energy in the industrial sector and by modifying the use of wood energy and fossil fuel energy in the residential sector. I then consider the implications of these projects for BC emissions by applying BC emission factors. I utilize this assessment to consider how a market for BC might affect the existing carbon offset markets. I find that both spatial and temporal factors play a key role in the effective BC mitigation initiatives. I also find that inclusion of BC in the global carbon market could both change the spatial distribution of carbon market projects and either increase or decrease the financial value of those projects.
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Keywords
black carbon, carbon emissions, biofuels, carbon markets
