The mitigation potential and cost efficiency of abatement-based payments for the production of short-rotation coppices in Germany

In Northern and Central Europe, short-rotation coppices (SRC) have become a profitable agricultural production alternative, particularly for marginal fields with suitable groundwater levels. The replacement of fossil fuels by the wood chips produced in SRC contributes to the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Due to heterogeneous regional production conditions, the impacts on economy, production and GHG mitigation vary. Previous studies investigate specific agronomic, environmental and economic aspects of SRC. This study complements the existing literature by estimating the economic mitigation potential from SRC in Germany. It presents an integrated modeling approach that considers agronomic and economic aspects and investigates the mitigation potential and the abatement cost efficiency arising from abatement-based payments.