World Bioenergy Association report
05/12/2012
The World Bioenergy Association (WBA) has published an informative fact sheet ‘The Carbon Neutrality of Biomass from Forests’. The WBA explains the significant role that forest management and use of forest biomass for energy generation has in tackling current climate change. ‘The use of forest biomass is carbon-neutral, because the carbon contained in wood originates from the atmosphere and it is released to the atmosphere by wood decay or by combustion.' 'Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy has to be the core strategy with regards to future climate policies. Utilising biomass from sustainably managed forests can play an important role in this strategy. Several countries have demonstrated that a build up of carbon in forests and an increase of forest biomass for energy is simultaneously achievable by good forest management practice.' The fact sheet demonstrates how sustainable forest management can help reduce carbon emissions and goes on to set the record straight on several misleading claims surrounding sustainable biomass energy. ‘The majority of assumptions in the theories on carbon debt and payback time of biomass are wrong, because they assume that first you burn the tree and then you grow it!’ It goes on to show that it is not better for the climate to leave trees in forests and use fossil fuels rather than sustainably harvesting the trees and using part of them for energy. Please click the link below for the full report:
WBA_Factsheet_The_carbon_neutrality_of_biomass_from_forests.pdf
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