Climate Change

It is understood that the utilisation of fossil fuels such as coal and oil is contributing to climate change due to the discharge of greenhouse gases. The current output of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is exceeding the worst estimates, now pointing towards an increase of global temperature of 6 degrees Celsius. This is worst-case scenario, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

The challenge is to find alternative energy sources. Biomass as an energy source is considered “carbon dioxide neutral” since incineration only releases the volume bound in the biomass during its growth.  Replacing fossil fuels with biomass would be a way of decreasing the discharge of greenhouse gases. However, there is another complementary challenge that has to be addressed: the global supply of food for humankind.