Report: Neglected energy sources vital for developing nations

By Julius N. Uma

March 16, 2011 (JUBA) – Developing nations are not fully utilising biomass fuels which could enable them to fight poverty, create jobs, gain energy independence and help to both limit and adapt to climate change, a recent report has revealed.
The London-based research organization, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) published the report on 10 March 2011.

The report urges such nations to take advantage of the fact that they are already dependent on biomass fuels. The infrastructure which utilises these resources, such as wood and charcoal, can be developed in a move towards a greener economy in which the poor benefit from producing sustainable, clean energy.

The IIED statement further says that reliance on biomass fuels will increase from 10 to 30 percent of global energy consumption by 2050. There are new technologies which will aid this with the capacity to convert wood to liquid and gaseous fuel; and to produce wood bundles or pellets that can be ‘gasified’ to make electricity. In Austria 80% of new homes are reportedly equipped with wood pellet boilers and Denmark plans to double its use of biomass energy to help become carbon neutral by 2050

The report says that developing countries tend to treat biomass energy biomass fuels as traditional, dirty, unhealthy, and threat to forests. It also shows how they can turn their already heavy biomass dependence into an advantage.
According to the report, biomass energy can meet a wide range of energy needs: from irrigation pumps, illumination, agricultural processing, refrigeration, transport, telecommunication and more.

“Many governments in developing nations dissuade people from burning wood or charcoal as fuel as they think it is backward, but this just criminalizes poor people for their energy needs and does little to limit deforestation,” says Duncan Macqueen, a senior researcher in IIED’s natural resources group and co-author of the report.

He added, “Instead government should embrace and legalize biomass fuels as a source of energy and enact policies that make supply chains sustainable.”
The report explains that biomass can be a renewable and sustainable source of energy if nations manage their forests correctly and carry out replanting.
Biomass, explains the report authors, produces lower emissions of greenhouse gases than fossil fuels as biomass energy. Also, its production is labour-intensive it can offer employment options to reduce poverty, while the potential health hazards can be easily solved by better processing and stove technologies.
“Fossil fuels are running out and threatening our global climate in the process, so the hunt is on for greener more sustainable energy,” says Sibel Korhaliller, co-author of the report.

“Developing nations that get serious about biomass energy and end any historic prejudices against such fuels will greatly serve their national interests. This will need a new approach that legalizes and secures sustainable production by and for the millions of poor people who both produce and depend on biomass for energy,” Korhaliller adds.

(ST)