Shaping the biomass energy discourse

Over a hundred registered participants joined last Friday’s free webinar aimed at bridging knowledge gaps about the use of biomass for energy purposes, an intensively debated issue among a wide range of stakeholders with different agendas and backgrounds.

What science says

The first part of the webinar contained research perspectives on what we know about biomass supply and carbon balance, presented by Pål Börjesson from Lund University and Göran Berndes from Chalmers University of Technology.

Even though mainly examples from a Swedish perspective were included, it was clearly pointed out that conditions for using biomass for energy purposes differ between countries and regions. It relates to the availability of types of biomass, other possible energy sources, and how harvesting and production systems are designed, e.g. if by-products are circulated, etc. Also, regulatory frameworks such as the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), apply.

Dialogues wanted

Researcher Mikael Karlsson from Uppsala University reflected upon why and what we can and cannot seem to agree on, and the possible causes for diverging opinions in the biomass and energy debate. Dialogoues are wanted by everyone, but who are we willing to listen to?

All three researchers then took part in a panel discussing the role of science and policy in the debate as well as decision processes and outcomes.

Webinar resources

A recording of the webinar is available here. Presentations and further reading are listed below:

• Possibilities for extending use of biomass in a sustainably way
• Climate effects of forest biomass and bioenergy
• The use of woody biomass for energy production in the EU (JRC Report referred during the webinar)
• Applying a science-based systems perspective to dispel misconceptions about climate effects of forest bioenergy (Research Review, GCB Bioenergy – Open Axess)

The webinar was jointly organised by ETIP Bioenergy, IEA Bioenergy, and the collaborative research program Renewable Transportation Fuels and Systems financed by f3 and the Swedish Energy Agency. Hosts of the webinar were the Swedish Members of the European Parliament Jessica Polfjärd and Erik Bergkvist.

The webinar was preceded by an earlier event on 23 August 2021 targeted to a Swedish speaking audience. A recording from that event can be found here.