Commented hypothesis
Transitioning towards a low carbon economy:
Opportunity or complication for sustaining natural capital and
ecosystem services?
Leen Gorissen
Unit Transition Energy and Environment, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO),
Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium.
Striving towards low carbon societies is high on the global agenda and the
progression towards renewable, bio-based resources is steadily emerging. In
fact, thinking of genuine sustainability, one may ask the question whether there
is an alternative to massive expansion of biomass utilisation over the long haul?
In one respect, biomass can be used as a energy carrier that can replace fossilbased resources. It is already clear that biomass resources will be an important
part of future energy systems as transport fuels or stationary heat or electricity
applications (see WBGU report, 2008). On the other hand, the particular variety
and flexibility of biomass use makes it attractive for many other purposes. Such
applications of biomass include fibres (additives, paper etc), chemicals (solvents,
polymers etc) and materials (textiles, insulation etc). Sectors ranging from
architecture over chemistry to cosmetics aim to ‘green’ their image and reduce
their footprint and are thus reorienting their resource use from fossil to bio-based
materials. Examples include green chemistry, green construction, green and
white biotechnology. It is thus no wonder that this versatility of biomass may
lead to an increasing tension between sectors, industries and land uses: food
versus fuel; bioenergy versus biomaterial and so on. Consequently, the ongoing
discussions about a bio-based economy focus predominantly on the marketable
roles of biomass whereas the non-marketable goods and services of biomass
(e.g. their role in the supporting and regulating ecosystem services) receive little
or no attention. In a world with a growing demand for food, energy and
materials, society (e.g. agriculture) relies profoundly on these regulatory and
supporting ecosystem services while climate change reduces average land
productivity and extreme weather events increase vulnerability (IPCC, 2007). In
a market driven world, how can massive expansion of biomass production be
reconciled with sustaining natural capital and ecosystem services? To guarantee
sustainability in a bio-based economy solutions to the trade-offs between the
marketable and non-marketable services and goods of biomass resources are
urgently needed. Design and establishment of genuinely sustainable systems of
the future requires a comprehensive system approach that acknowledges and
integrates the perspective of the non-marketable functions and goods of biomass
resources in relation to a bio-based economy. To achieve this, biologists, experts
in ecosystem services and the like urgently need to participate and take active
roles in the existing platforms and fora that are related to a bio-based economy.