What role could forests play in future energy supply?
GreenFacts summary of FAO report on Forests & Energy
Brussels, 17 March 2009. Rising food prices have fuelled controversy about the production of liquid biofuels for transport. Currently, biofuels are produced from food crops, such as sugar cane or rape seed, and have been criticized for yielding low economic and environmental benefits compared to fossil fuels.
If sustainably managed, large forested areas could serve as a source for a new generation of biofuels derived from wood that is better than current biofuels from food crops in terms of energy efficiency, environmental benefits and socio-economical impacts. This is one of the conclusions of a recent report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The FAO called upon GreenFacts, an independent non-profit organization based in Brussels, to provide the general public with a plain-language version of its 2008 report on "Forests and Energy, Key Issues".
As of today, and in time for the World Forestry Day on March 21st, this full summary is accessible free of charge at www.greenfacts.org/en/forests-energy/.
Highlights of FAO report on Forests and Energy
In coming years, the world's energy consumption is expected to increase dramatically. While fossil fuels will remain an important source of energy, renewable energies will also gain importance, as a result of concerns over high fossil fuel prices, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and energy import dependence.
Bioenergy derived from wood and other organic materials, accounts for a significant proportion of the current energy supply from renewable sources. In many of the world's developing countries, fuelwood and charcoal (traditional bioenergy) remain the primary source of energy. In industrialized countries wood energy is used for both domestic and industrial purposes. At present, it is particularly competitive when using wood residues from the wood processing industry.
Most liquid biofuels for transport are currently produced from food crops, such as sugar cane or rape seed, and yield little economic and environmental benefits compared to fossil fuels. The use of these crops for energy production may even compete with food supply and lead to increased deforestation. However, it is expected that a new generation of liquid biofuels will become available in the next decade using wood as well as agricultural and forestry residues. This technology is expected to become commercially competitive and generate much less greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels. Such second-generation liquid biofuels produced from woody biomass rather than from food crops would also reduce competition with food production.
To avoid negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts, the expansion of biofuel production will need to be accompanied by clear and well enforced regulations.
Future demand for bioenergy will depend largely on policy measures.
About GreenFacts
GreenFacts asbl/vzw is an independent, multi-stakeholder non-profit organization based in Belgium. Our mission is to bring complex scientific reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-experts.
We publish two types of faithful summaries of scientific reports: GreenFacts Digests of scientific consensus reports (authorised by the GreenFacts Scientific Board), and GreenFacts Co-Publications (published at the request of contracting organizations). GreenFacts' publications are freely available in several languages on www.greenfacts.org. Each publication is a faithful summary of an authoritative international scientific report.
GreenFacts was created in 2001 by individuals from scientific institutions, environmental and health organizations, and businesses, who called for wider access to unbiased information on health and the environment.
About FAO Forestry Department
The Forestry Department is one of the eight departments of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (www.fao.org/forestry/).
Its mission is to help nations manage their forests in a sustainable way. The Organization's approach balances social, economic and environmental objectives so that present generations can reap the benefits of the earth's forest resources while preserving them to meet the needs of future generations.
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Denis Richir
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press(at)greenfacts(dot)org
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