Environment and Energy

Resources

Bio-Carbon in Africa: Harnessing Carbon Finance for Forestry & Bioenergy

A review of bio-carbon opportunities and challenges in Africa. The chapters are organised in terms of the production cycle, beginning with two chapters on forest bio-carbon (which can “grow” carbon): one on policy options and the second on forest bio-carbon methodologies. The review then moves into coverage of domestic bio-energy and charcoal production—technologies very much linked to the forest sector through their use of wood as a fuel source. The following chapters address bio-energy proper, first with a broad review of policy options and instruments before delving into specific bio-energy options, each with an increasing level of technological sophistication. The section begins with anaerobic digestion and then proceeds to chapters on bagasse cogeneration, biomass use in cement production, and biomass gasification and pyrolysis. The final chapter considers landfill bio-energy, at the end of the production cycle. The review should be useful for policy-makers seeking an overview of forestry / bio-energy regulation and promotion, and project proponents seeking to develop CDM or voluntary market carbon projects.

Use of Biomass Energy in Cement Production

Biomass and biomass residues, if sourced in an environmentally and socially sustainable fashion, represent a vast – and largely untapped – renewable energy source for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This guide seeks to outline the potential, taking the Ethiopian cement sector as a specific example of how biomass energy might be deployed in practice. Many of the issues covered, such as the need for biomass pre-treatment and densification, the problems of biomass availability in space and time, and the importance of appropriate on-site storage and handling facilities, are equally applicable to other countries of the region and, indeed, other manufacturing sectors. It is hoped that the guide will assist policy makers, industrial operators and the technical community to engage with the opportunities and challenges presented by the use of biomass energy, particularly in the context of the financing opportunities provided by the Clean Development Mechanism.

Forest Carbon Accounting: Overview & Principles

Forests play an important role in the global carbon balance. As both carbon sources and sinks, they have the potential to form an important component in efforts to combat global climate change. Accounting for the carbon within forest ecosystems and changes in carbon stocks resulting from human activities is a necessary first step towards better representation of forests in climate change policy at project, regional, national and global scales.