Biogenic Carbon Debt in Biomass Energy Systems: Carbon Dynamics, Feedstock Sustainability, and Climate Implications
For decades, biomass has occupied a distinctive position in climate change mitigation strategies. Unlike coal, petroleum, and natural gas, biomass originates from living organisms that have recently removed carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. This biological characteristic has led to the widespread assumption that energy generated from biomass is inherently carbon neutral. Governments, industries, and sustainability practitioners have therefore promoted biomass as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, based on the premise that the carbon released during biomass utilization is eventually reabsorbed through the growth of new vegetation. Under this traditional view, biomass simply recycles carbon already circulating within the contemporary biosphere rather than introducing additional carbon from long-term geological reservoirs into the atmosphere. Over the past two decades, advances in climate science, forest ecology, ecosystem carbon accounting, and life c...
