Atmospheric N2O Releases from Biofuel Production Systems: A Major Factor Against “CO2 Emission Savings”: A Global View

In this study we propose a global average quantitative criterion for the Nitrogen to dry matter ratio, r(N/dm), in the harvested plant material, which shows the degree to which the reduced global warming, reduced by using plant biomass instead of fossil fuels as an energy source (“saved CO2”), is counteracted by the release of N2O. The results indicate that the specific use of agricultural crops for energy production in several cases can be counterproductive from a climate point of view due to accompanying N2O emissions. This effect has been much underrated in studies of the climatic impact of biofuel production.