Fostering sustainable feedstock production for advanced biofuels on underutilised land in europe
Sustainable bioenergy production and use in the EU should be further developed in order to support Member States (MS) achieving 20-20-20 targets and foster rural development as set out in EIP AGRI. FORBIO will demonstrate the viability of using land in MSs for non-food bioenergy feedstock production without interfering with the production of food or feed, nor with land currently used for recreational and/or conservational purposes. Competition with other uses of the land is only one component of the sustainability of bioenergy and a number of cross-cutting environmental, social and economic aspects may present challenges to the extended deployment of these value chains, while assuring that biofuel sustainability standards are met. FORBIO will develop a methodology to assess bioenergy production potential on available “underutilised lands” in Europe (contaminated, abandoned, fallow land, etc.) at national and local level. In addition, in this context the project will provide multiple feasibility studies in selected case study locations in three countries that that aim to set the basis for building up local bioenergy value chains that meet the highest sustainability standards and improve efficiency and sustainability of those already available in the case study sites through the provision of roadmaps for bioenergy development.