The sustainability of forestry biomass supply for EU bioenergy: A post-normal approach to environmental risk and uncertainty

Most bioenergy supply scenarios suggest that a substantial fraction of future European energy supply could be biomass-based. Yet stakeholder opinion on the risks posed by a high level of bioenergy supply varies and the related science base is relatively undeveloped. Thinking on post-normal science advocates that issues with contested sustainability and risk implications are best resolved or negotiated via inclusive stakeholder fora, in which a variety of values and ways of thinking are respected. As the potential impacts of a large scale supply of forestry biomass for bioenergy have generally received less attention than the potential impacts of first generation biofuels, we use woody biomass risks to illustrate a novel risk perception typology that is consistent with thinking on post normal science. The typology is intended to both strengthen the case for inclusive decision-making in general and to clarify the nature of the risks posed by global solid biomass supply for European bioenergy.

► The risks of large scale bioenergy and biofuels supply are uncertain and contested.
► This is illustrated with reference to the policy, trends and impacts of European use of solid biomass for bioenergy.
► Post-normal science theory suggests that issues with contested sustainability and risk implications are best resolved or negotiated via inclusive stakeholder fora.
► A novel approach to structuring levels of risk and uncertainty, which acknowledges the post-normal science case, clarifies the different types of risk posed by large scale bioenergy.