Bioenergy Europe 2023 Statistical Report Biomass Supply and Policy Brief, published last week, presents the state of play in forest management and biomass feedstocks in the European Union. Europe's forests continue to grow, while almost 15% of total land use in the EU is unused and/or abandoned.
Unused and abandoned lands
“Abandoned areas in the European Union's former agricultural lands offer the EU a promising opportunity to achieve its energy and climate goals,” said Jean-Marc Jossart, Secretary General of Bioenergy Europe.
Feedstocks for bioenergy are generally residues and waste products, such as forestry residues and by-products from forestry-based industries, agricultural residues from agriculture and organic waste. The share of abandoned land varies from country to country. The Statistical Report on Biomass Supply identified Croatia (34,6%), Greece (28%) and Spain (25,4%) as the three countries with the highest percentages of unused and abandoned land.
“The potential in these areas is enormous and can contribute significantly to the EU's renewable energy goals and efforts to combat climate change. Furthermore, expanding bioenergy production can boost local economies by creating jobs in agriculture, forestry and the bioenergy industry,” Jossart continues.
Countries with extensive forested areas such as Finland, Slovenia and Sweden have significant room for growth in bioenergy production and afforestation. Afforestation on abandoned lands can help increase carbon sequestration, mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and prevent further land degradation through erosion.
Sustainable forest management
One of the report's key findings is the potential for bioenergy production, mainly from forest biomass residues. Forest biomass represented more than 70% of the total biomass feedstock, while agricultural and waste biomass accounted for the remaining 30%. The 2023 Biomass Supply Report confirms that the amount of wood harvested from European forests in 2021 is less than the amount of wood growing each year (around 63% of net annual growth is harvested at EU level).
Forests are exposed to more stress due to climate change. The sharp increase in cumulative area burned for 2022 is a particularly startling example. The only way to mitigate these dramatic events that affect forests is to reduce the risk factors by supporting their sustainable management, part of which involves removing biomass. Removing excess biomass (e.g., fallen branches) reduces the fuel available for wildfire spread.
Download the Bioenergy Europe 2023 Statistical Report Biomass Supply and the Policy Brief here
