There has been renewed attention on “climate change” in recent weeks as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Fifth Assessment Report. As scientists from every fray of the vast topic weigh in and offer analyses and perspectives, at least one common thread emerges: this topic is likely to not only keep scientists busy, but actually be a driving force for pushing the envelope of scientific discovery and analytical capacity for many years to come.

Climate change semantics aside, scientists generally agree in their expectations for increasing variability and severity of weather patterns and natural disasters over time. This can mean sustained and more frequent droughts; tornadoes occurring way before the historical season and way outside the historical “tornado alley”; increased frequency and severity of hurricanes; more frequent and severe storms, wildfires, mudslides, flooding, and the list goes on.

Generally, we’re talking about higher highs and lower lows and less time in between the extremes. Coming off a long and very cold winter, these projections are even more chilling. This was personalized for me a few weeks ago while talking to a farmer whose farm lies just above the official flood plain. He said his farm had endured a “100-year flood”, a “200-year flood”, two major hail storms, a tornado, and two consecutive years of official drought – all within the last decade.

So can energy crops actually change the trajectory the world is on related to the progression of climate? Probably not. At least not by itself. In fact, there’s probably not any one single thing that can significantly alter our course. Given that, in the window of time we have to act, it seems that our highest and best efforts are those that both influence the long-term trajectory while better preparing us to deal with near- to mid-term impacts.

That is something that a shift from a fossil-based economic engine to a carbon-based economic engine can actually do! Widespread use of a portfolio of locally appropriate and sustainably produced energy crops and biomass to produce clean, domestic, renewable fuels, chemicals, power, and products helps stabilize the long-term trajectory of climate, with simultaneous shorter-term benefits of better preparedness for dealing with weather extremes and faster recovery, strengthening rural communities, and creating local jobs and sustainable economies.

In the next two blog posts, we’ll explore further why biomass should be an important component of our multifaceted approach, and how we can accelerate progress.

By Kelly J. Tiller, Ph.D., President and CEO