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Biomass - or energy from plant or animal matter - is often cast as unsustainable and dirty. Yet a new study by Duncan Macqueen and Sibel Korhaliller of the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development argues the neglected energy source can reduce carbon emissions and help tackle climate change, while boosting economies in the developing world.
According to the study, biomass energy currently makes up 10 percent of the world's primary energy mix - comprised of fossil fuel-based energy, renewable energy and nuclear power - and 77 percent of the world's primary renewable energy mix. The International Energy Agency has predicted that biomass will become increasingly important as an energy source, rising to 30 percent of the global primary energy mix by 2050.
Most biomass energy is based on wood. It is renewable and can help meet rising fuel demand, as long as forests are controlled locally and managed in a way that is sensitive to food security needs, according to the study.
If it is produced sustainably and burned efficiently, it also emits low levels of carbon. The report says new ways of converting biomass into energy are increasingly cost-competitive with alternatives at various commercial scales.
DEVELOPED WORLD BUY-IN
The industrialised world is buying into biomass using highly developed approaches. The study reports that in Austria, 80 percent of new homes are equipped with wood pellet boilers. In Denmark, plans to become "carbon neutral" in energy by 2050 include a doubling of biomass energy, which now makes up about 70 percent of renewable energy consumption.
And in Britain, plans to build new biomass power stations would expand demand from one million tonnes to 50-60 million tonnes per year if all the biomass-to-electricity power stations that have received planning permission are financed and constructed, creating capacity of 7 gigawatts.
Biomass also provides advantages in the developing world, where two billion people rely on it for their energy supply - partly because it is so easily accessible. In sub-Saharan Africa, 89 percent of the population relies on traditional biomass burning for primary cooking and heating fuels.
Biomass can be converted into heat, electricity, liquid fuel and gas, using basic technologies like combustion and gasification. Production is labour-intensive, which may yield employment opportunities and help reduce poverty.
Yet developing countries are less prepared for a transition to biomass, the report says. Many governments still treat biomass energy as conservative and dirty, because smoke inhalation can be harmful in poorly managed settings.
Nonetheless, growing understanding of how to resolve this problem, including more efficient stoves, better ventilation and smoke extraction, combined with recent technological advances, make continued rejection of biomass energy an outdated approach, the IIED researchers argue.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION FOR THE POOR
Management of biomass is usually delegated to forest-service officials and merchants, who often control the market in their own interests. This tends to result in unchecked illegal practices. For example, it is reported that in Malawi, none of the close to 100,000 people supplying charcoal to 93 percent of the population has been issued with a charcoal permit.
In some countries, wealthy members of the elite have cornered the market on biomass production. The Senegalese forest department enforces quotas on charcoal supplies that have led to the 20 wealthiest merchants making around $300,000 per year, compared with the average villager who earns less than $3.50.
The study claims this approach is unfair and inhumane, shifting production from under-paid workers to businessmen prone to bribery and corruption.
Tapping the potential of biomass energy in a more equitable way should start with legalising and securing sustainable production by, and for, the millions of poor people who use biomass for energy, the report suggests.
This "means putting biomass energy at the heart of national energy strategies and creating formal markets built on clear institutional mandates, securing biomass tenure rights for local people and strong investment in newer biomass technologies, including an active programme of research."
Change may be starting to occur in this direction. Last year, the World Bank launched the Biomass Energy Initiative for Africa. This and eight other local schemes are funded under the Africa Renewable Energy Access Programme, supported by a $28.75 million contribution from the Netherlands in 2008.
The future of biomass remains uncertain. Yet growing energy demand calls for an increase in the use of renewable resources. Across the developing world, small advances are being made to harness biomass effectively. But, as the study indicates, governments need to massively scale up these efforts.
Boosting the use of biomass could create rural jobs and reduce poverty. If done the right way, it could also improve sustainable management of forests, help curb climate change and its impacts, and make energy supplies more secure.
