North American biomass deemed carbon neutral

September 24, 2013, Brussels, Belgium – The carbon debt issue surrounding Europe's use of North American biomass
is not an issue according to findings published in a report
released by AEBIOM.

The report, Forest
Sustainability and Carbon Balance of EU Importation of North American Forest
Biomass for Bioenergy Production, states that "carbon debt and foregone sequestration in realistic bioenergy scenarios are very small compared to the carbon savings that are achieved over time." The report also concluded that using wood pellets from both Canada and
the U.S. southeast would achieve significant GHG savings, and could play
a major role in climate change mitigation.

The report recognized the important role that the U.S. southeast region and British Columbia have in supplying biomass fuel necessary to meet renewable energy targets in Europe. The report recognized that, in B.C., there is a large volume of mill residue and a large volume of logging residues that could be utilized for bioenergy production.

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada, the BC Bioenergy Network and the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association worked in conjunction with AEBIOM in producing the report.

To download a copy, CLICK HERE