RESPONSE TO CRITIQUES FROM M. WANG AND J. DUNN (ARGONNE LABORATORY)

The document refutes claims that WRI miscalculated biomass energy potentials and solar efficiency comparisons, arguing that solar PV is significantly more land-efficient than bioenergy. It challenges the existence of abundant 'marginal land' for biofuels, asserting that such lands often provide critical carbon storage or face economic and legal constraints. WRI further argues that bioenergy does not inherently reduce greenhouse gas emissions unless it drives yield increases beyond what is already required to feed the global population, and that it does not reliably reduce poverty or increase food availability.

• WRI maintains that its calculation of global harvested biomass is accurate, estimating it at roughly 225 EJ, a figure consistent with IPCC reports. It argues that critics misread data by confusing total human-induced alteration of net primary production (HANPPtotal) with actual human harvest (NPPh).
• Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells are significantly more land-efficient than bioenergy. WRI asserts that on approximately 75% of the world's land, solar PV produces at least 100 times more energy per hectare than bioenergy. Even in the most efficient cell for bioenergy, solar PV would generate 40 times more usable energy.
• The claim that abundant 'marginal land' is available for bioenergy is contested. WRI argues that land marginal for cropping is not necessarily marginal for all purposes, as it often provides valuable carbon storage, biodiversity, or forage. In Indonesia, screening 'low-carbon degraded lands' for economic viability and legal availability reduced the eligible area by nearly two-thirds.
• WRI argues that the release of carbon dioxide from burning biomass has the same greenhouse gas effect as carbon from fossil fuels. It asserts that bioenergy only provides a carbon offset if the plant growth is 'additional' to what would have occurred without bioenergy production.
• The document disputes the idea that bioenergy can increase food availability or reduce poverty, particularly in Africa. It argues that converting Africa's wet tropical savannas to cellulosic ethanol would result in carbon payback times of more than 10 years for over 99% of the area and would compete with the need to triple crop production by 2050 to meet food needs.
• WRI contends that bioenergy cannot be a sustainable solution unless it increases crop yields beyond the rates already necessary to feed the world without land-use change. It notes that most expert projections suggest global agricultural land area will continue to expand even without biofuels.

APA

Searchinger, T. (2015). RESPONSE TO CRITIQUES FROM M. WANG AND J. DUNN (ARGONNE LABORATORY). World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRI_responds_to_Argonne_critiques.pdf

Chicago

Searchinger, Tim. RESPONSE TO CRITIQUES FROM M. WANG AND J. DUNN (ARGONNE LABORATORY). World Resources Institute, 2015. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRI_responds_to_Argonne_critiques.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Searchinger |first1=Tim |title=RESPONSE TO CRITIQUES FROM M. WANG AND J. DUNN (ARGONNE LABORATORY) |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=28 May 2015 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRI_responds_to_Argonne_critiques.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{searchinger2015response, author = {Searchinger, Tim}, title = {{RESPONSE TO CRITIQUES FROM M. WANG AND J. DUNN (ARGONNE LABORATORY)}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2015}, month = may, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRI_responds_to_Argonne_critiques.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }