Oxford Energy Seminar: Availability of sustainable biomass in Europe: framework conditions and projections from 2030- 2050.


This seminar will be delivered as a webinar through TEAMS. Please go to the web address for booking (below) to receive the TEAMS link. The presenter, Calliope Panoutsou, will present online from Imperial College London. You can also attend in person at the Oxford Martin School, Broad Street, Oxford. In-person attendance is permitted now, and will be at the Oxford Martin School and does NOT require registration.

Sustainable biomass supply has been highly debated, both at the scientific and at the political levels, for almost two decades with controversial arguments. Some stakeholders strongly support the development of biomass value chains to deliver renewable raw materials, boost economic growth and rural development and increase farm income. Others however express overwhelming concerns about the risks that unsustainable practices for producing and using biomass can cause to the already vulnerable planetary boundaries and finite natural resources such as land and water. This presentation discusses the availability of sustainable biomass in Europe and presents recent projections for 2030 and 2050. The work includes an analysis of conditions and assumptions under which the biomass potential can be sustainably optimised and contribute to human capital and welfare within safe planetary boundaries, without causing any other negative impacts (e.g. preserving high nature value areas, maintaining and improving biodiversity, reducing the use of arable land as well as the use of fertilisers and other chemical inputs).