If We Don’t Cut Emissions, Creating Carbon Sinks is Irrelevant

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is already high so it must be reduced to save the earth. Efforts to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere apparently cannot simply absorb CO2 from the atmosphere (carbon capture and storage). Maximizing the absorption of atmospheric CO2 but on the other hand CO2 emissions continue to increase, it will be very difficult (read: impossible) to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, let alone to a certain target agreed upon by the global community. So what makes sense is that CO2 emissions are not increased again so that the concentration does not increase further and existing CO2 is reduced to a certain level as targeted.

In practice, the production of wood chips and wood pellets as carbon neutral renewable fuels will complement each other with biochar. Wood chips and wood pellets do not add CO2 emissions and biochar absorbs CO2 as a carbon sink (carbon sequestration) or carbon negative. The application of biochar as part of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is currently developing the fastest compared to other CO2 reduction efforts (CDR / Carbon Dioxide Removal). Biochar leads in CDR credits in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), namely with more than 90% globally in 2023 as stated in the cdr.fyi database. From this data, it is estimated that at least 350 thousand tons of biochar have been produced globally in 2023 with an estimated 600,000 units or more of CDR credits (Carbon Credit).

And as in Europe, namely in 2023 there are a total of 48 new biochar plants, installed and operating, although 7 plants are closed, but a total of 41 biochar plants or an estimated total of 171 biochar plants are operating. And in 2024 there are an estimated 51 new biochar plants in Europe or in 2024 the total number of biochar plants is estimated to grow to more than 220 units. In terms of biochar volume, there is an estimated increase of 75,000 tons in 2023 and in 2024 the increase in production to 115,000 tons. Electricity production with 100% biomass fuel and equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) devices will also absorb CO2 or carbon negative, but this method is expensive and slow to develop. While biomass and coal cofiring because the cofiring ratio is small, efforts to reduce CO2 emissions are not too significant but cofiring is indeed the easiest entry point for using renewable energy in , especially in the energy or power generation sector (coal power plants). And in the end, creating a carbon sink, but the emission source is not reduced (cut), then it is the same as a lie or an irrelevant effort.