The wood energy sector is largely informal and often insufficiently reflected in economic statistics. Strategies in Burkina Faso and the United Republic of Tanzania have supported fuelwood plantations and many countries have programmes for improved stoves, yet biomass is generally regarded as an affordable but unclean source of energy. Demand for fuelwood has also contributed to forest degradation. However, if well managed, woody biomass can be affordable, clean and renewable. Arkhangelsk (the Russian Federation) is increasing wood energy production both for local heating needs and for export (wood pellets), and lower-income countries have great potential to use the resource more efficiently as part of broader sustainable energy strategies. This is an important issue and a barrier to change.