A recent study published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary open-access scientific journal, concluded that the harmful effects of burning wood for energy on the climate could be mitigated with efficiently designed climate policy.

The paper examined issues surrounding the consequences of bioenergy policies on forests and carbon emissions with a focus on managing response, the efficiency of the policy, and the impacts of increased biomass demand on forest ecosystem services.

The research paper concluded that using wood for bioenergy will result in net carbon benefits while adding that an efficient policy also needs to regulate forest carbon sequestration.

It found that incentivizing both wood-based bioenergy and forest sequestration would increase carbon sequestration and conserve natural forests at the same time.

Carbon sequestration, also called carbon dioxide removal, is an artificial process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, or physical processes. This is done to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to mitigate climate change.

Forest carbon sequestration is the process of using forests to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Forests have been proven to be efficient as carbon sinks through activities such as afforestation, forest management, and reduced deforestation.

The findings of this study clarify how various policy incentives for biomass energy and carbon sequestration influence the net exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and forested ecosystems. These findings could go a long way in the fight against climate change.

Earlier, the McKinsey Global Institute said that India could experience a net-negative agricultural impact from climate change. The country could experience a 7% decrease in projected crop yields by 2050, while the probability of an over 10% decrease in annual yields in a given year would increase from 10% to 40% by 2050.

More recently, Mercom reported that researchers at the University of Potsdam have claimed that the climate costs are likely to be less if the temperature increase because of global warming is limited to two degrees Celsius.