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Low‐cost sustainable biomass availability in the European Union may not be able to meet increasing demand; exploring the option of importing biomass is therefore imperative for the years to come. This article assesses sustainable biomass export potential from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Ukraine, and the United States by applying a number of sustainability criteria. Only biomass types with the highest potential are selected, to take advantage of economies of scale, e.g. pulpwood, wood waste, and residues in the United States, and agricultural residues in Ukraine. This study found that, except for the United States, pellet markets in the sourcing regions are largely undeveloped. The export potential depends strongly on pellet mill capacity and assumed growth rates in the pellet industry. Results show that the United States, Ukraine, Indonesia, and Brazil offer the highest biomass export potential. In the Business As Usual 2030 scenario, up to 204 PJ could potentially be mobilized; in the High Export scenario this could increase to 1423 PJ, with 89% of the potential being available for costs ranging from 6.4 to 15 €/GJ. These potentials meet the European Commission requirements for a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions set in the Renewable Energy Directive. The total export potentials do not reflect the net possible import potentials to the European Union, as biomass could be imported to other countries where there is a demand for it, where less strict sustainability requirements are applied, and which are proximate to the sourcing regions, notably South Korea, Japan, and China. © 2018 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

In the article “Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries” (DOI: 10.1002/bbb.1853), published in Wiley Online Library on 22 March 2018 and in Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, 13: 293–32, the affiliation for author Dominik Rutz was incorrect. The correct affiliation is WIP Renewable Energies, Munich, Germany.

Projections show that biomass will remain important for reaching future EU renewable energy targets. In addition to using domestic biomass, European bioenergy markets will also partly rely on imports of biomass, in particular in trade-oriented EU member states like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark. There has been a lot of debate on the sustainability of (imported) biomass and how policy should deal with this. In this research, therefore, we defined long-term strategies for sustainable biomass imports in European bioenergy markets. We used the input of different stakeholders in our approach through focus-group discussions and a global survey, focusing on the following aspects: key principles of sustainable biomass trade, risks and opportunities of biomass trade, both for import regions (EU countries) and for sourcing regions, and practical barriers for trade. Overall we conclude that policies should be stable and consistent within a long-term vision. An overall sustainability assurance framework of biomass production and use is key, but should ultimately apply to all end uses of biomass. Furthermore, the mobilization of biomass should be supported, as well as commoditization, considering the large diversity of biomass. Side impacts of biomass use should be monitored. Reducing investors’ risk perception is crucial for future developments in the biobased economy, and a clear policy to phase out fossil fuels, e.g. through a carbon tax, needs to be implemented. The results of this research are of interest for policy makers when deciding on long-term strategies concerning sustainable bioenergy markets.

The wood pellet use in the heating and electricity sector has recorded a steady growth in the last years. IEA bioenergy task 40 carried out an update of the situation on the national pellet markets in the most relevant pellet producing countries and the global development as well. Various country specific data is collected and compiled for more than 30 countries, containing updated information about regulatory framework, production, consumption, price trends, quality standards and trade aspects. The analysis confirmed the positive development in terms of production and consumption of wood pellets in almost all countries. In 2015, more than26Mt of wood pellets have been produced and consumed worldwide. Technologies and markets become more mature. Increased international pellet trade needs to be supported by adequate frame condition not only for commerce, but also with regard to sustainability issues., Proceedings of the 25th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 12-15 June 2017, Stockholm, Sweden, pp. 1909-1912

Although various frameworks were developed in the last few years for forestry sustainability assessments, none includes the importance of technical support in a comprehensive way. The proposed framework links the Sustainable Development Goals with indicators developed for the forest bioeconomy and the United Nations strategic plan for forests. It adds components related to partnerships, technology transfer, public opinion and image, which were recurrent topics at stakeholder interviews held in Brazil during 2017. One common proposition in such interviews was that technical support plays a key role in spreading sustainable practices among farmers. By analysing data from the Brazilian Census of Agriculture of 2006, it was possible to verify that 78% of farmers in the country donu2019t receive any technical support. In order to understand better the variables that influence technical support, a logistic model was used. It showed that the probability of farmers in the first quintile of income to receive technical support is 88% lower than farmers in the fifth quintile of income. The level of education was the variable with the highest odds: the odds of a farmer with any bachelor degree to receive technical support is 3,128 times that of a farmer without formal education, proving that the farmers with less education have much lower probability of receiving technical support. The state where the farm is located is not significant for determining technical support. Regarding farmers that plant trees for commercial purposes, they are 25% more likely to receive technical support than other farmers.

The Brazilian government has launched in December 2018 its National Plan for Planted Forests setting the goal of increasing the area by 2 million hectares by 2030. In order to understand Brazilian farmersu2019 motivations to plant trees for commercial purposes, a questionnaire was applied to 65 farmers between October 2017 and July 2018. Results show that most of the farmers started planting trees because the prices were attractive by the time of planting. Also, many farmers pointed out that the lack of labour was an important factor in deciding to switch from labour-intensive crops and livestock to forestry. A high number of farmers revealed the possibility of not continuing planting trees for commercial purposes, which could pose a risk to the success of the National Plan. On the other hand, responses indicated that certified farmers are less likely to switch to other crops, suggesting that one less studied impact of certification is the persistence of land use decisions.Other important results were that farmers with less education and income are more likely to be part of associations. However, they do not receive technical support to the same extent than more educated and richer farmers do. This shows that many associations are not providing technical support to their members. In conclusion, by providing more technical support to farmers, the Brazilian government could enhance sustainability practices and the adoption of certifications which could help to detain farmers to switching from planted trees to other crops.