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Biomass
The Role of Biomass
Although this report categorizes bioenergy as a renewable source, its impact on climate is largely influenced by the choice of feedstock and the methods of sourcing.
Increasing scientific evidence suggests that, in specific cases, the combustion of bioenergy for power has the potential to contribute to climate change.
Bioenergy generation has experienced significant growth over the past two decades
Over the past two decades, bioenergy generation has seen a substantial increase of 4.5 times, surging from 148 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2000 to 672 TWh in 2022. As a result, the proportion of bioenergy in the global power generation mix has risen from less than 1% in 2000 to 2.4% in 2022. It's worth noting that there was only one year when bioenergy generation declined, which was in 2001 when production fell by 5.5 TWh (-3.7%).
Since then, bioenergy generation has experienced an average annual growth rate of 8%. However, in 2022, the growth rate dropped significantly to 0.8%, mainly due to major producers like Brazil, the United States, and the UK reducing their bioenergy generation.
The growth of bioenergy generation has also slowed since 2015, with a lower average annual growth rate of 4.9%. Bioenergy's share in the global power mix has increased by only 0.4 percentage points since 2015, going from 2% to 2.4% in 2022.
Among the G20 countries, the UK has the highest share of bioenergy in its domestic power mix. In 2000, its share was a mere 1.1%, but by 2015, it had risen to 8.5%. Although the increase has slowed, the UK's share of bioenergy reached 11% in 2022. Brazil and Germany have similar shares, consistently maintaining a share of around 8% since 2015.
Progress Towards Net Zero
Due to the climate risks associated with carbon-intensive feedstock, it is recommended that bioenergy plays a restricted role in the transition to clean electricity.
According to the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario, bioenergy generation is projected to constitute only 4% of global electricity generation by 2030. The International Panel on Climate Change suggests even stricter limitations, proposing that bioenergy be reduced to just 2% by 2040.
However, the IEA Net Zero pathway proposes a doubling of bioenergy generation to 1,442 TWh by 2030 as part of the global phase-out of coal. To align with this pathway, the global bioenergy generation would need to increase by 7.6% annually from 2021 to 2030, in contrast to the growth rate of 4.9% observed since 2015.