At head of title: German Advisory Council on Global Change.

Because of the major opportunities and risks associated with it, and the complexity of the subject, bioenergy policy has in a short time become a challenging political task for regulators and planners – a task that can only be accomplished through worldwide cooperation and the creation of an international framework. This book's central message is that the sustainable potential of bioenergy, which can be tapped all over the world, should be utilized – provided that threats to sustainability are avoided. In particular, the use of bioenergy must not endanger food security or the goals of nature conservation and climate change mitigation.

The North American Great Plains is a major global breadbasket but its agriculture is stressed by drought, heat, damaging winds, soil erosion and declining ground water resources. Biomass production and processing on the Plains would partially restore a perennial vegetative cover and create employment opportunities. This book explores the possibility that the ecology and economy of the Plains region, and similar regions, would benefit from the introduction of perennial biomass crops.

This book provides a holistic framework for assessing the environmental and economic impacts of land-use strategies for a range of purposes, such as food, animal feed, biomass and biofuels, and timber. Using land for one purpose negates its use for any other competing purpose. Given that it is in limited supply, land needs to be optimised so that it can meet the increasing demand for crops of a growing and wealthier human population, while providing ecosystem services, such as carbon storage (i.e. climate-change mitigation). The framework is quantitative and includes various indirect effects, like indirect land-use change, and is a robust basis with which to assess global impacts from land-use decisions on climate change, ecosystem services and biodiversity.

This completely revised second edition includes new information on biomass in relation to climate change, new coverage of vital issues including the "food versus fuel" debate, and essential new information on "second generation" fuels and advances in conversion techniques. The book begins with a guide to biomass accumulation, harvesting, transportation and storage, as well as conversion technologies for biofuels. This is followed by an examination of the environmental impact and economic and social dimensions, including prospects for renewable energy. The book then goes on to cover all the main potential energy crops.

This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, and academic researchers.

Over the past decade, renewables-based technology and sustainability assessment methods have grown tremendously. Renewable energy and products have a significant role in the market today, and the same time sustainability assessment methods have advanced, with a growing standardization of environmental sustainability metrics and consideration of social issues as part of the assessment. Sustainability Assessment of Renewables-Based Products: Methods and Case Studies is an extensive update and sequel to the 2006 title Renewables-Based Technology: Sustainability Assessment. It discusses the impressive evolution and role renewables have taken in our modern society, highlighting the importance of sustainability principles in the design phase of renewable-based technologies, and presenting a wide range of sustainability assessment methods suitable for renewables-based technologies, together with case studies to demonstrate their applications. This book is a valuable resource for academics, businesses and policy makers who are active in contributing to more sustainable production and consumption. For more information on the Wiley Series in Renewable Resources, visit www.wiley.com/go/rrs Topics covered include: The growing role of renewables in our society Sustainability in the design phase of products and processes Principles of sustainability assessment Land use analysis Water use analysis Material and energy flow analysis Exergy and cumulative exergy analysisCarbon and environmental footprint methods Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), social Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) Case studies: renewable energy, bio-based chemicals and bio-based materials.