Biomass provides green heat and green power in industrialized countries
PARIS, France, 2004-10-06 (Refocus Weekly)
Agricultural bioenergy provides 7% of the heat generation in OECD countries, and 1% of their total electricity, according to a report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development.
In developing countries, biomass provides 25% of total energy demand, mainly
in the form of firewood and animal dung.
“Plants and animal waste could become viable alternatives to fossil fuels in
providing energy and materials if governments changed strategies,” the report
explains. “Instead of offering financial incentives or subsidies to stimulate
the use of such organic material, known as biomass, governments should encourage
technical innovation as a way of narrowing the price gap with oil and gas
products.”
The change in strategies would “stimulate demand and boost the supply of
bioproducts,” and the recent volatility in oil prices has underlined the
potential increased cost competitiveness of energy and raw materials produced
from biomass, according to ‘Biomass & agriculture: sustainability, markets
& policies,’ which is a series of papers from international experts in he
field.
Financial incentives for bioproducts currently are used in many countries, and
should be avoided as they “distort markets and lead to a long-term dependency
on subsidies,” and says subsidies should also be stopped for fossil fuels. The
agriculture sector is under pressure to reduce overall support levels and to
establish targeted policies and market-based approaches.
International standards and codes of practice should be established for biomass
products, to ensure that GHG emissions are reduced and that environmental
benefits are maximized. A better assessment of costs and benefits which consider
externalities is needed, and clear lines of communication must be established
between suppliers, processors and potential users, in addition to public
education campaigns on biomass.
A significant shift could take place from a fossil-fuel to a biomass-based
economy during this century, and the process would be facilitated by the
creation of carbon markets which provide credits to biomass producers for
displacing fossil fuels. Long-term strategies should be developed that recognise
the potential of local resources and encourage the establishment of
bio-refineries to recycle a range of farm by-products, in addition to using
grains, oilseeds and sugar.
The report examines the economic and environmental sustainability of
agricultural biomass production and use, and reviews current policies and market
approaches used by OECD countries to promote agricultural biomass. It contains
44 papers and case studies of Europe, North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and
New Zealand.
The report calls for international standards and codes of practice to be
established for biomass products to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are
reduced and environmental benefits are maximised. A better assessment of costs
and benefits taking into account economic, environmental and social aspects is
therefore needed. It adds that clear lines of communication should be
established between the suppliers, processors and potential users. Also, public
education campaigns about the biomass sector should be developed.
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