In 2014, renewable energy accounted for 14% of the world’s global total primary energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency.

According to UNECE, solid biofuels represented the largest share of this, amounting to 44.5% in the European Union.  These are any renewable, biological material used as fuel such as wood, sawdust, leaves, and even dried animal dung, but the majority of biofuels are derived from wood. The use of wood as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other applications dates back to when Neanderthals learned how to start a fire.

Today biomass is reportedly still the primary fuel for domestic use in many developing countries and it is also the leading renewable energy source in the UNECE region. 

Biofuels create less environmental impact than fossil fuels like coal although they contain less energy per unit of weight.  New technologies and improved quality of fuel virtually eliminate any concern about particle emissions during combustion.  For this reason, biomass-derived energy is attracting renewed interest and is expected to increase rapidly as a source of energy.

According to Mr. Adrian Whiteman of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), “SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, as well as the COP21 agreement on climate change mitigation and the EU Renewable Energy Targets, imply a more important role for biomass energy.”

However, data on primary production and gross consumption of biomass and renewable by-products is not so easily collected and often underestimate the role of this renewable energy source.   In addition, often production data do not match consumption estimates coming from household surveys.  To address these issues UNECE and FAO, jointly with IRENA, organized a capacity building workshop on information on bioenergy from the forest sector in Budapest from 6-8 December. The aim of the workshop was to improve renewable energy statistics and analysis by comparing national experiences and hearing about best practices. 

The UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section is currently collecting information on wood energy sources and uses from all its member states to increase knowledge of the sector.  This information will be publicly available in spring 2017. Similarly, IRENA is currently collecting renewable energy data (including bioenergy data) for all countries in the world, which will be published in June 2017.