Torn between Regional Supply and Globalisation: Austria's Primary Biomass Footprint for Energy in Comparison to Food and Material

Abstract

Global biomass trade for energy has risen sharply in recent decades, especially with regard to refined biofuels. This development was accompanied by increasing concerns about adverse environmental impacts in exporting countries. Criticism of the EU’s bioenergy policies is often connected to international trade, for example controversies surrounding direct and indirect land-use change, or regarding the carbon balance of wood pellets being imported as substitute for coal. In Austria, there is strong public support for bioenergy from domestic sources, while biomass imports are met with scepticism. Such preference for regional supply is also prevalent for food and biomass for material, where consumers tend to consider high degrees of national self-sufficiency as an indication that domestic supply predominates. We here investigate where biomass products and biofuels consumed in Austria actually originate from, and whether the import share of Austria’s bioenergy sector significantly differs from that of nutrition and material applications. We determine the source countries of primary biomass utilized for energy, food and material based on material flow analyses, process chain modelling and algorithms tracing imported biomass to original source regions. We find that globalized supply chains undermine efforts for regional supply regardless of the type of use. Still, biomass consumed for energy as well as food and material primarily originates from Austria and its neighbouring countries. Certain bioenergy carriers have relatively large primary biomass footprints in more distant countries and overseas (mainly oil crop-based biofuels) but overall, biomass for energy is more regional than food and material products.