Mitigate Global Climate Change

Every year, farmers in the developing world burn more than 10 billion tonnes of crop wastes in their fields. This releases 16.6 billion tonnes of CO₂, 11.2 billion tonnes of CO₂e, 1.1 billion tonnes of smog precursors and 65.7 million tonnes of PM2.5 into the atmosphere. The combined annual CO₂ and CO₂e emissions from crop waste burning are equivalent to the annual emissions of 714 coal fired power plants.

The alternative – converting the waste into biochar instead of burning it removes three tons CO2 from the atmosphere for every ton produced; when added to fields as a soil amendment, that carbon is permanently sequestered. This so-called “semi-permanent sequestration” is most powerful. 

However, scientists are evaluating the potential of biochar as a climate change solution and reviewing the scientific literature to assess current data on biochar's long-term stability in the environment. The obvious benefits is a huge reduction of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.