Application of the ERIA WG Methodology to Evaluate Sustainability of Biomass Utilization for Energy and Materials

Outline

It is generally acknowledged that biomass energy can make a significant contribution to environmental improvement, energy supply diversity from fossil fuel and socio-economic development goals. On the other hand, there is also a widespread recognition that biomass energy must be produced and used in a sustainable way, considering all the positive and negative effects from environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainability.

In East Asian Summit (EAS) countries where biomass resources are abundant, there are various attempts to make effective use of biomass not only as energy but also as materials. In order to help decide what kind of biomass utilization should be implemented in each country, a methodology with a tool that can evaluate the sustainability of biomass utilization for both energy and materials will play an important role.

In view of these, the project aims at providing a sustainability assessment method for biomass utilization for both energy and materials that are suitable for East Asian Summit (EAS) countries.