Analysis of the Relative Sustainability of Land Devoted to Bioenergy: Comparing Land-Use Alternatives in China

Jiashun Huang, Weiping Li, Xijie Huang and Lijia Guo
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Jiashun Huang: School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
Weiping Li: School of Business, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
Xijie Huang: School of Business, Guangdong University of Finances and Economics, Guangzhou 510320, China
Lijia Guo: Faculty of Human, Social and Political Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RQ, UK

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: When developing land to meet various human needs, conducting assessments of different alternatives regarding their sustainability is critical. Among different alternatives of land-use, devoting land to bioenergy is relatively novel, in high demand, and important for addressing the energy crisis and mitigating carbon emissions. Furthermore, the competition and disputes among limited land-use for bioenergy and the combination of food production and housing are tense. Thus, which alternative of land-use is more sustainable is an important question, yet it is still under-investigated. The main purposes of this study are to investigate the merits and problems of land-use for bioenergy and to compare the relative sustainability of land-use for bioenergy, food production, and housing based on habitants’ perceptions. Multi-criteria analysis is applied to the case study in the context of China, evaluating multiple criteria in economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Therefore, this study presents a comprehensive assessment of different scenarios of land-use designed to be implemented and some implications for optimum land-use policies.

Keywords: sustainability; land-use alternatives; bioenergy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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