Wood energy expanding due to policy promotion
in the UNECE region

Geneva, 19 April 2005 - The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) just released the UNECE/FAO Forests, Wood and Energy: Policy Interactions. It examines the impacts of energy, environment and forest policy on new and traditional forest products markets in the UNECE region of Europe, North America and the CIS countries. After an overview of renewable energy policies and political drivers affecting wood energy, especially in the European Union, it looks at what impacts wood energy policies might have on the market. The basis of the information stems from a UNECE policy forum organised to emphasize cross-sectoral viewpoints on international forest policy and the market effects from wood used for energy. The discussions focussed on how promoting wood energy might affect other forest sector and non-forest sector policies. Its main findings are:

• International, national and regional policies to promote sustainable energy, including. wood and wood fibre, are influencing production, trade and consumption of forest products and their manufacturing co-products. Arising from the increased environmental awareness, including climate change, and the high cost of fossil fuels, wood energy has become a current topic for policymakers.
  
  
• Schemes promoting wood energy cause market shifts in competitive energy and wood raw material markets. However, these shifts can be positive for forest owners seeking alternative markets for low-grade wood and biomass and for the modern biofuel industry, But they can be negative for traditional industries competing for the same raw materials, e.g., for panel and pulp manufacturing.
  
  
• International biofuel and energy markets are developing rapidly but unevenly in the UNECE region, as evidenced by the consumption of wood for energy in western Europe rising to a record level in recent years.
  
  
• UNECE region forests produce more wood every day than is harvested, and many countries have policies to put some of the surplus growth of forests into modern wood-fired energy production.
  
  
• Russia has the potential to become the main supplier of woody biomass for large-scale energy production, both domestically and abroad.
  
  
• Foresters need to engage with policymakers in other sectors and the public so that the opportunities offered by wood energy are fully recognised.
  
  
• Modern wood-based energy is expected to continue expanding, but at what rate and to what geographical extent is an open question. Its development will be impacted by energy, environment and forestry policies, as well as market prices for wood fuel, the availability of woody biomass for energy purposes, and competitive fossil fuel prices.