Forest Sustainability and Carbon Balance of EU Importation of North American Forest Biomass for Bioenergy Production

The context Biomass for energy plays a significant role in the EU renewable energy picture, with bioenergy expected to remain a key strategy for both the near and long term. Although biomass supplies within EU Member States are substantial, it will nonetheless be necessary to import significant volumes of fuel pellets and other forms of biomass in order to meet ambitious EU renewable energy targets. Given that the impetus for a shift toward renewable fuels is concern over levels of atmospheric carbon, it is essential that efforts to reduce fossil fuel use in the EU lead to lower levels of atmospheric carbon and do not result in increased carbon emissions. It is also important that forest sustainability in biomass supply regions not be threatened. A number of studies have examined the carbon implications of energy production from forest biomass. Conclusions are wide ranging, from those that claim carbon emissions stemming from energy production from trees can be worse than when burning coal, to determinations that wood-based bioenergy offers large carbon mitigation benefits. Examination of such studies reveals that outcomes are very heavily dependent upon underlying assumptions – assumptions that are sometimes unrealistic. The objectives of this paper are to better inform stakeholders about current biomass sourcing practices, to highlight the key role of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in forest-based biomass energy production, to outline commercial realities of SFM decision making in the context of healthy forests used for multiple purposes, and to critically examine the carbon dynamics of forests from which biomass fuels are obtained. With regard to the latter, this paper points out the critical nature of assumptions in forest bioenergy carbon modelling, brings forth views from the bioenergy sector regarding criticisms raised in several recent reports, and examines the carbon implications of several scenarios of biomass importation for EU bioenergy production. Although EU biomass production potential is large, in practice, projections from Member States National Renewable Energy Action Plans and from experts highlight the role of biomass imports from countries outside the EU as critical to meeting the EU renewable energy target. The US Southeast region (SE US) and British Columbia, Canada (BC) are viewed within the EU as important sources of biomass fuel needed to fulfil near and mid-term renewable energy targets. As both of these regions produce fuel pellets from woody biomass, there is concern that rising exports to the EU may inadvertently increase levels of …