Spatialized potential for biomass energy production in Brazil: an overview

Background Satisfying the demand for energy supply is a persistent issue in the world today. To meet the requirements of a growing population, this demand will continue to increase in the coming years (IPCC 2007). In the second half of the 20th century, a number of research has pointed to the endangerment of the life on earth due to the effects of the climate change (Socolow et al. 2004; IPCC 2007; Kates 2010; IPCC 2011; Abramovay 2014). This is a direct consequence of the higher concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mostly CO2 originating from fossil fuels. Non-renewable sources of energy— mostly fossil fuels—are still responsible for 85 % of the energy supply in the world (IEA 2010; IPCC 2011), an exceptionally unsustainable aspect of human society. The first concept of Sustainable Development—“Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations 1987)—emerges from the necessity of finding alternative forms of development. The demand for renewable energy is a direct consequence of the global movement to Abstract