November 2010: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a paper titled “What woodfuels can do to mitigate climate change.”

The paper highlights the centrality of woodfuels’ contribution to global energy consumption and its often unsustainable consumption. It addresses approaches to improve efficiency in the woodfuel sector and manage the resource more sustainably. It examines options for pellets, residues and feedstock supplies, as well as options for combined heat and power systems and co-firing of biomass in coal-fired power plants. The paper highlights options for substitution of fossil fuels by woodfuels, and suggests that the use of biomass for heat and power could save more than one gigaton of carbon annually by 2030. The paper also notes that savings from the traditional biomass sector could amount to more than 0.5 gigatons but would require high investment costs. [FAO Forestry Paper Website]