Bioenergy to mitigate for climate change and meet the needs of society,the economy and the environment

Changes towards environmental improvementsare becoming more politically acceptableglobally, especially in developedcountries. Society is slowly moving towardsseeking more sustainable productionmethods, waste minimisation, reduced airpollution from vehicles, distributed energygeneration, conservation of native forests,and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions. Modern biomass, when used tosupply useful bioenergy services, has arole to play in each one of theseenvironmental drivers at both the large andsmall scales.This paper describes recent developments inbiomass supply and the technologies for itsconversion to bioenergy including biofuelsfor transport. It examines the economic,environmental and social benefits andidentifies barriers to bioenergy projectimplementation. Future opportunities forbiomass as a carbon (C) sink, a C offsetand a potential source of renewablehydrogen are discussed.Whether or not a bioenergy project iseconomically viable, as well as being trulyrenewable, sustainable and environmentallysound, is determined mainly by the sourceof biomass. The social benefits from usingbiomass are also valuable, though they areoften not clearly presented when proposingnew bioenergy projects or conductinganalyses of existing plants. Employmentrates per MWh or per GJ exceed those whenusing fossil fuel supplies to provide thesame energy service. `Ownership' bystakeholders and local communities at anearly stage in the development process isthe key to successful project developmentin order to share the benefits. Bioenergyhas a significant global role to play inthe mitigation of atmospheric GHG concentrations.