Preliminary results from a recent study show that using forest residues for bioenergy will have a positive climate impact until 2050. The report takes into account that these residues would otherwise remain behind in the forests and decay. Taking decay into account, it appears that bioenergy from forest residues is not only carbon neutral, but also has a substantial positive impact in terms of climate protection.
Forest residues include all crop residues and natural losses due to mortality, insects and storms, excluding residues in soil (roots and stumps) or in litter. This low-quality wood, which contains both coarse and fine woody waste, is not suitable for other applications in the wood industry. Using these forest residues available for forest woodchips in Europe for bioenergy could cumulatively avoid approximately 2020 billion tonnes of CO 2050 equivalent between 5,6 and 2, while safeguarding biodiversity and forest health. This amount of savings from using residues is comparable to 8 times the emissions from road transport in the EU27 in 2020. This calculation is based on the use of wood chips from forest residues in Europe, saving 2,8 billion tons of CO 2.eq by 2050, with residues equal to 10% of the growing stock left in the forest to preserve biodiversity. If all residues remained in the forests, this would result in emissions of more than 2,8 billion tons of CO 2 -eq.
Utilizing forest residues offers a win-win-win scenario because it makes a positive contribution to the energy transition, climate protection and biodiversity. Therefore, it should be classified as eligible for public funding in Europe.
The study results further highlight the synergies with negative emissions technologies such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or biochar, as well as with hydrogen. Such additional benefits open the door for future smart climate and energy-friendly projects in the medium term.
The author of the study, Professor Hubert Röder, notes: “There is still great potential in using primary woody biomass for energy. It is mainly a by-product of smart and sustainable forest management, aimed at producing high-quality wood. If the remains are not used, they rot in the forest – without replacing fossil fuels and without generating income from sustainable forest management. In other words, this is a lose-lose-lose situation for the energy transition, the transition to climate-resilient forests and climate change mitigation.”
About the study
Project KLIMAHOLZ , Author: Prof. Dr. Hubert Roder, Chair in Sustainable Business Economics, Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf / TUM Campus Straubing. Further results of the study will be published in January 2023.
The assessment is carried out from cradle to grave, taking into account all aspects of alternative storage and decay in the forest and dynamically decreasing replacement due to the improving climate impact of the European energy supply.
Dead wood amounting to at least 10% of the growing stock is left in the forest and safeguards biodiversity. (Blanco (2012). Forest ecosystems: more than just trees)
Source: Bioenergy Europe
