Summary: | Bioenergy from agriculture is today in the heart of sustainabledevelopment, integrating its key components: environment and climate change,energy economics and energy supply, agriculture, rural and social development.Each bioenergy production route presents externalities that must be assessed inorder to compare one bioenergy route to another (bio)energy route. The lack ofprimary and reliable data on externalities is, nevertheless, an important nontechnologicalbarrier to the implementation of the best (bio)energy routes. In thisarticle, we want to monetize one environmental externality from bioenergy:emissions (GHG: CO2, CH4, N2O, O3; CO, NOx, SO2, metal, and PM). We have tomonetize emissions on the basis of their effects on health, global warming, and soiland water quality. Emissions will be quantified through Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)and ECOINVENT database. Impacts on health will be monetized on the basis ofmortality (number of life expectancy years lost multiplied by Value Of Life Year(VOLY)) and morbidity (number of ill persons multiplied by Cost Of Illness(COI)). Impacts on global warming will be monetized by Benefits Transfers fromthe Stern Review and its critics. Finally, impacts on soil and water quality will bemonetized by Averting Behaviour or Defensive Expenses methods. Monetizationresults will be gathered, weighted, and incorporated in states and firms’ decisionmakingtools. They would enhance capacity of policy makers and managers tochose the best (bio)energy routes.
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