Biochar – a climate smart solution? Climate change and agriculture – Report N°1 – December 2001
A glance at global mitigation potentials shows that changes in agriculture and land use, including deforestation in tropical areas, currently account for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Increasingly, therefore, agriculture is being recognized as part of the problem in international climate negotiations and various “climate-friendly” agricultural solutions are being proposed. In a series of briefings, MISEREOR examines whether these solutions actually lead to climate-friendly and equitable agriculture. This paper focuses on Biochar – or fine-grained charcoal added to soils – which is being promoted as a way of sequestering carbon in and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from soils whilst, at the same time, making soils more fertile.
Contacts: Nicole Piepenbrink (Nicole.Piepenbrink(at)misereor.de) – Anika Schroeder (anika.schroeder(at)misereor.de)
MISEREOR is CIDSE’s member in Germany
Biochar – a climate smart solution?, Climate change and agriculture – Report N°1