Biomass is a limited and land-intensive resource, yet many industries, including aviation, chemical manufacturing and carbon removal, are looking to biomass as a potential replacement for fossil fuels. However, this paper finds that demand for biomass could outstrip sustainable supply, creating competition between industries and increasing risk of unsustainable biomass use and land use change. This paper also finds that growing crops for biomass could use far more land than building renewable energy to power the future.

Using biomass to decarbonize comes with environmental and climate risks, but there are opportunities to use biomass responsibly. Wastes and residues from municipalities, agriculture and forestry can be used to support decarbonization. On the other hand, using purpose-grown biomass crops or food crops are not likely to benefit the climate.  

This analysis examines how an economy-wide carbon price or similar decarbonization policy could influence biomass use across U.S. industries through 2050, and how that use might shift when emissions leakage is fully accounted for. We find that the most valuable uses of biomass to support decarbonization include carbon removal, chemicals production and next-generation fuels. In general, biomass should play a minor role in energy production as the U.S. decarbonizes, and the energy it does produce should come from emerging, innovative technologies – like fuels made with biomass hydrogen – rather than conventional biofuels or combustion for electricity.

For any biomass use, adequate guardrails and accurate carbon accounting are necessary to prevent biomass use from negatively impacting climate, ecosystems and food systems.

We recommend that policy incentives, such as tax credits or low-carbon fuel standards, should place a premium on the use of biomass feedstocks for end uses that are most beneficial to decarbonization and should not incentivize any biomass that could cause land use change and cause increased, not reduced, greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Findings:

  • Using biomass without safeguards poses risks. Adequate guardrails and accurate carbon accounting are necessary to prevent biomass use from negatively impacting climate, ecosystems and food systems.
  • For biomass to provide climate benefit, it should be used for carbon removal, to create advanced fuels or to replace fossil fuels in chemical production.
  • Crop-based biofuels are not an effective tool for achieving economy-wide decarbonization.   
  • To reduce potential demand for biomass, the U.S. must accelerate electrification across economic sectors and increase energy efficiency.   

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