Julije Domac

Emerging international bio-energy markets and opportunities for socio-economic development

Rapidly developing international bio-energy trade may evolve over time into a “commodity market” which can secure supply and demand in a sustainable way; sustainability being a key factor for long-term security. It is clear that on a global scale and over the longer term, large potential biomass production capacity can be found in developing countries and regions such as Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe. If indeed the global bio-energy market is to develop to a size of 400 EJ over this century (which is quite possible given the findings of recent global potential assessments) the value of that market at US

Socio-economic drivers in implementing bioenergy projects

4/GJ (considering pre-treated biomass such as pellets) amounts some US

A Sustainability Framework for Enhancing the Long-Term Success of LULUCF Projects

1.6 trillion per year. This creates important future opportunities for such regions, given the expected increased role of bio-energy within the world’s energy supply. Consequently, this poses the fundamental question of how these potential major producers and exporters of bio-energy can benefit from the growing global demand for bio-energy in a sustainable way, i.e., that bio-energy exports can contribute to rural development, benefit local communities and be an integral part of overall development schemes, including the existing agricultural and forestry sectors. In this paper the links between international bio-energy trade and socio-economic development and how sustainable bio-energy production could be realized are explored. Drivers, barriers and future potentials for international bio-energy markets are discussed and socio-economic implications for possible exporting countries are identified. By doing so, several key opportunities and issues for the developing international bio-energy markets and their possible socio-economic impacts on developing and rural regions are raised that should be taken into account by policy-makers, market parties, international stakeholders and other key stakeholders. Summarizing, although international bio-energy trade and markets are developing very rapidly and the future looks bright given market demand and potential supplies, many barriers also exist that can disturb or at least slow down a sound development of such markets. Also, there are important concerns about competition for land that may result in conflict with food production, water resources and biodiversity protection. Although biomass production may well provide a crucial strategy to enhance sustainable land-use management, negative developments should be avoided, e.g., by clear standards and best-practice guidelines for (the design of) biomass production systems and their integration in agricultural areas.