EUBCE 2024 - Olga Maria VALENTI - The Environmental Footprint of Sugarcane Bagasse as a Bioenergy Source

The Environmental Footprint of Sugarcane Bagasse as a Bioenergy Source

Short Introductive summary

Bioenergy is a multifaceted energy source that comes with several complexities. The literature highlights that unsustainable biomass production can lead to various negative consequences, including but not limited to biodiversity decline, net increases in emissions, land competition with food crops, deforestation, and altered soil conditions. For these reasons, the industry is directing its focus toward bioenergy sourced from waste and residue streams, acknowledged for its zero life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and its non-competitive nature with other land uses. Nevertheless, clear guidelines accounting for indirect externalities linked to waste and residues from agricultural products such as sugarcane, which is associated with both positive and negative impacts whose magnitude changes depending on the location, are lacking. This study seeks to bridge this gap by quantifying the environmental impacts of sugarcane bagasse using a spatially explicit approach.

O.M. Valenti, Utrecht University, THE NETHERLANDS
A.D Anna Duden, Utrecht University, THE NETHERLANDS
M.J Martin Junginger, Utrecht University, THE NETHERLANDS
F.H Floor van de Hilst, Utrecht University, THE NETHERLANDS