In a report published in summer 2006, the European Environment Agency analyses the pros and cons of using biomass from agriculture, forestry and waste for energy production.

Although increasing the use of renewable energies offers significant opportunities for Europe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of biomass use to produce energy are still largely unknown or unpredictable.

Entitled How much bioenergy can Europe produce without harming the environment?, the report aims to assess how much biomass could technically be available for energy production without increasing pressures on the environment and counteracting potential future environmental policies and objectives, e.g. waste minimisation and environmentally-friendly farming.

The study concludes that well developed planning processes at the local, national and European level are necessary to ensure that bioenergy production develops in an environmentally-compatible way. This would also include a major involvement and participation of stakeholders, such as policy-makers, NGOs, local governments, businesses and consumers.

What is biomass?

Biomass includes a wide range of products and by-products from forestry and agriculture as well as municipal and industrial waste streams. After a conversion process, the biomass can be used as a fuel to provide heat, electricity or as transport fuel.

Further reading

 How much bioenergy can Europe produce without harming the environment? EEA Report No 7/2006
 EU Biomass Action Plan
 NGO briefing for the European Parliament’s discussions on the Strategy on Biomass and Biofuels