Biomass in the Regulation Trap? The Complexity of a Sustainable Use of Bioenergy

From 22 to 26 August 2011 the Vereinigung für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (VÖW) organized a summerschool on "Sustainable Production Chains" together with the Humboldt University of Berlin. Part of the diverse programme for PhD and master students was a seminar held at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim (ATB) on renewable energies with a special focus on bioenergy and biomass from agro-forest systems. In his presentation Timo Kaphengst, Coordinator for Biodiversity and Forest at Ecologic Institute, highlighted different sustainability challenges within the biomass production chain and presented current policy responses on EU and German level. The presentation can be downloaded.

In particular, he explained the role of certification schemes within EU policies on renewable energies and discussed their limits in ensuring a sustainable production of biofuels. He showed the difficulties of establishing a consistent calculation of GHG emissions from bioenergy and discussed the major social trade-offs of further expansion of biofuels in developing countries.