Study shows using forest residues for bioenergy have positive climate effect until 2050

In Belgium, the preliminary results of a recent study show that the utilization of forest residues for bioenergy will have a positive climate effect until 2050. The report takes into account the fact that these residues would otherwise be left in the forests and would decay. Taking into consideration decay shows that bioenergy from forest residues is not only carbon neutral but has a substantial positive effect in terms of climate protection.

Forest residues include all harvesting residues and natural losses due to mortality, insects, and storms, excluding residues in the soil (roots and stumps) or in litter. This low-quality wood, containing both coarse and fine woody debris, is not suitable for other uses in the wood industry. By using these forest residues availably for forest wood chips in Europe for bioenergy, approximately 5.6 billion metric tons of CO2eq can be avoided cumulatively from 2020 to 2050 while safeguarding biodiversity and forest health. This amount of savings from using residues is comparable to 8 times the emissions of road transport in the EU27 in 2020. This calculation is based on the use of forest residue wood chips in Europe, which will save 2.8 billion tons of CO2eq by 2050, with an amount of residues equal to 10% of the growing stock left in the forest to safeguard biodiversity. If all residues will be left in the forests, it would result in emissions of over 2.8 billion tons of CO2eq.

The utilization of forest residues offers a win-win-win scenario because it delivers a positive contribution to the energy transition, climate protection and biodiversity. Therefore, it should be classified as eligible for state funding in Europe.

The results of the study further highlight the synergies with negative emissions technologies like 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.