BIOMASS - AN ENVIRONMENTALLY ACCEPTABLE FUEL FOR THE FUTURE

Biomass fuels currently supply around 15 per cent of the World's energ y. Much of this is in the form of traditional fuelwood, plant residues and dung, which are often inefficiently used and can be environmental ly detrimental. There is great potential for the modernization of biom ass fuels to produce convenient energy carriers, such as electricity, gases and transportation fuels, while continuing to provide for tradit ional uses of biomass; this is already happening in many countries. Wh en produced in an efficient and sustainable manner, biomass energy has numerous environmental and social benefits compared with fossil fuels . These include waste control, nutrient recycling, job creation, use o f surplus agricultural land in industrialized countries, provision of modern energy carriers to rural communities of developing countries, i mproved land management, and a reduction of CO2 levels. Using biomass to substitute for fossil fuels is afar more effective use of available land than simply growing trees as a carbon store. Biomass fuels can f orm part of a matrix of renewable fuel sources that increases the ener gy available for economic development in developing countries. In OECD Europe it is calculated that a potential of 9.0-13.5 EJ could be prod uced in 2050 on available land, which represents 17-30 per cent of pro jected total energy requirements.