Freshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C
Limiting mean global warming to well below 2 °C will probably require substantial negative emissions (NEs) within the 21st century. To achieve these, bioenergy plantations with subsequent carbon capture and storage (BECCS) may have to be implemented at a large scale. Irrigation of these plantations...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab2b4b |
| _version_ | 1797747962810466304 |
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| author | Fabian Stenzel Dieter Gerten Constanze Werner Jonas Jägermeyr |
| author_facet | Fabian Stenzel Dieter Gerten Constanze Werner Jonas Jägermeyr |
| author_sort | Fabian Stenzel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Limiting mean global warming to well below 2 °C will probably require substantial negative emissions (NEs) within the 21st century. To achieve these, bioenergy plantations with subsequent carbon capture and storage (BECCS) may have to be implemented at a large scale. Irrigation of these plantations might be necessary to increase the yield, which is likely to put further pressure on already stressed freshwater systems. Conversely, the potential of bioenergy plantations (BPs) dedicated to achieving NEs through CO _2 assimilation may be limited in regions with low freshwater availability. This paper provides a first-order quantification of the biophysical potentials of BECCS as a negative emission technology contribution to reaching the 1.5 °C warming target, as constrained by associated water availabilities and requirements. Using a global biosphere model, we analyze the availability of freshwater for irrigation of BPs designed to meet the projected NEs to fulfill the 1.5 °C target, spatially explicitly on areas not reserved for ecosystem conservation or agriculture. We take account of the simultaneous water demands for agriculture, industries, and households and also account for environmental flow requirements (EFRs) needed to safeguard aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, we assess to what extent different forms of improved water management on the suggested BPs and on cropland may help to reduce the freshwater abstractions. Results indicate that global water withdrawals for irrigation of BPs range between ∼400 and ∼3000 km ^3 yr ^−1 , depending on the scenario and the conversion efficiency of the carbon capture and storage process. Consideration of EFRs reduces the NE potential significantly, but can partly be compensated for by improved on-field water management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:58:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e95ad9fecf6a44258a1142d492aedcc3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:58:08Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-e95ad9fecf6a44258a1142d492aedcc32023-08-09T14:46:20ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262019-01-0114808400110.1088/1748-9326/ab2b4bFreshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °CFabian Stenzel0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5109-0048Dieter Gerten1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6214-6991Constanze Werner2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1511-3086Jonas Jägermeyr3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8368-0018Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research , D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , D-12489 Berlin, Germany; Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems , D-10117 Berlin, GermanyPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research , D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , D-12489 Berlin, Germany; Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems , D-10117 Berlin, GermanyPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research , D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , D-12489 Berlin, Germany; Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems , D-10117 Berlin, GermanyPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research , D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Computer Science, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America; NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies , New York, NY 10025, United States of AmericaLimiting mean global warming to well below 2 °C will probably require substantial negative emissions (NEs) within the 21st century. To achieve these, bioenergy plantations with subsequent carbon capture and storage (BECCS) may have to be implemented at a large scale. Irrigation of these plantations might be necessary to increase the yield, which is likely to put further pressure on already stressed freshwater systems. Conversely, the potential of bioenergy plantations (BPs) dedicated to achieving NEs through CO _2 assimilation may be limited in regions with low freshwater availability. This paper provides a first-order quantification of the biophysical potentials of BECCS as a negative emission technology contribution to reaching the 1.5 °C warming target, as constrained by associated water availabilities and requirements. Using a global biosphere model, we analyze the availability of freshwater for irrigation of BPs designed to meet the projected NEs to fulfill the 1.5 °C target, spatially explicitly on areas not reserved for ecosystem conservation or agriculture. We take account of the simultaneous water demands for agriculture, industries, and households and also account for environmental flow requirements (EFRs) needed to safeguard aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, we assess to what extent different forms of improved water management on the suggested BPs and on cropland may help to reduce the freshwater abstractions. Results indicate that global water withdrawals for irrigation of BPs range between ∼400 and ∼3000 km ^3 yr ^−1 , depending on the scenario and the conversion efficiency of the carbon capture and storage process. Consideration of EFRs reduces the NE potential significantly, but can partly be compensated for by improved on-field water management.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab2b4bBECCSwater demandirrigationnegative emissionsenvironmental flow requirementsclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Fabian Stenzel Dieter Gerten Constanze Werner Jonas Jägermeyr Freshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C Environmental Research Letters BECCS water demand irrigation negative emissions environmental flow requirements climate change |
| title | Freshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C |
| title_full | Freshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C |
| title_fullStr | Freshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C |
| title_full_unstemmed | Freshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C |
| title_short | Freshwater requirements of large-scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C |
| title_sort | freshwater requirements of large scale bioenergy plantations for limiting global warming to 1 5 °c |
| topic | BECCS water demand irrigation negative emissions environmental flow requirements climate change |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab2b4b |
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