Page 37 - Advances in bioenergy the sustainability challenge

and biomass extraction support an increasing biomass harvest from forests. This development
will not the least be important in the case of biofuels for transport, which hitherto have been
produced based on either easily degradable organic waste or food/feed crops. While different
types of organic waste can be relatively cheap feedstock sources, cultivated feedstocks cost
more and the ones used today make up a substantial part of the total production cost of such
biofuels.

In addition to technological development and new types of feedstock for biomass, there are
several other factors that contribute to the utilization of biofuels such as renewable energy
related standards mandating the use of certain types of biofuels as well as tax incentives and
other measures associated with low carbon fuels policies, which also limit the carbon intensity
of biofuels.

The society's “footprint” on Earth will inescapably expand in order to provide food, energy
and materials for an increasing human population. Yet, society expects that emerging bioenergy
systems should reduce impacts caused by the existing - primarily fossil - energy systems, and
that policies are developed to address risks associated with bioenergy implementation. Much
attention is being directed to the possible consequences of land-use change (LUC), referring to
well-documented effects of forest conversion and cropland expansion into previously
uncultivated areas, possibly resulting in biodiversity loss, increased greenhouse gas emissions
and degradation of soils and water bodies. There are also concerns about risks for negative
social and economic impacts, including land-use conflicts, human rights violations and food-
security impacts.

The management of natural resources to provide needs for human society while recognizing
environmental balance is the challenge facing society. As for other human activities,
governance of bioenergy development is much about balancing trade-offs between partly
incompatible environmental and socioeconomic objectives. There are currently several
initiatives to develop sustainability certification systems. These may hedge against some of the
undesired consequences of expanding bioenergy systems and promote a positive development

where implemented effectively. Complementary to sustainability certification, there is a need
to develop competitive business cases that are efficient along the entire bioenergy supply
chain, from feedstock production to energy markets.

The policy challenge for those wishing to utilize the planet's bioenergy potential is complex.
One clear principle is balance striking the proper balance between specific energy and food
needs, and more broadly between socioeconomic development and environmental
sustainability goals. This challenge is fraught with uncertainties: we cannot readily know if and
to what extent the delicate web of biodiverse life would be disturbed under different utilization
scenarios; and we do not know if social changes in diet and family formation or international
efforts to significantly alleviate poverty and hunger will succeed in enabling greater use of
bioenergy of certain kinds and on certain scales. Risks embedded in these uncertainties are
large, leaving many researchers unsatisfied with our statistical ability to estimate them. When
policy confronts “wicked problems” like these, it is common to counsel that we observe a
precautionary principle in our actions and aspirations. This second principle also has a large