Sustainable land use: Food production or fuels

Abstract

Climate change and concerns of energy security are the main drivers for the promotion of renewable energy carriers. One of the main pillars of the strategy to mitigate climate change and save non-renewable energy carriers is the use of biomass for energy. Bioenergy can be obtained from wood and silvicultural residues, dedicated energy crops and agricultural residues as well as from organic waste. Already today, biomass is contributing about 15 % to the global energy consumption, however, most of it is traditional non-commercial firewood and charcoal for heating and cooking.