The biomass dilemma
Assessing synergies and trade-offs between climate change mitigation, air quality and other environmental impacts across the EU
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22434020 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joana Bastos (0000-0002-4711-9522, Joint Research Centre, corresponding author), Jacopo Giuntoli (0000-0001-6226-9636, ASM Terni (Italy)), Nicola Arriga (0000-0001-5321-3497, Joint Research Centre), Manjola Banja (0000-0002-2070-676X, Joint Research Centre), Fabio Monforti-Ferrario (0000-0003-3272-2684, Joint Research Centre), Roberto Pasqualino (0000-0001-5309-4643, Joint Research Centre), Stefano Zauli-Sajani (Joint Research Centre), Annarita Valenzano, Enrico Pisoni (0000-0001-5484-5744, Joint Research Centre) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Pages | 152-166 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sustainable Production and Consumption (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2352-5509 • E-ISSN: 2352-5509 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.spc.2026.04.002 |
| OpenAlex | W7153457502 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
While climate change mitigation strategies across the EU have often promoted the use of wood-based biomass for heat and power supply to reduce the use of fossil fuels, its actual benefits are unclear. The use of wood-based biomass can pose risks to air quality and health, especially when used in small-scale heating systems in cities. To leverage synergies and avoid trade-offs between climate change mitigation, air quality and other environmental impacts, policymaking should be supported by integrated quantitative analyses. This article presents a novel life-cycle assessment framework to calculate the potential environmental impacts of wood-based biomass use in small-scale residential heating systems, for a wide range of impact categories. The framework is applied to (i) the assessment of current wood-based biomass heating impacts across 23 EU Member States and 87 cities and (ii) two illustrative scenario analyses for five countries evaluating environmental trade-offs and co-benefits of energy-related measures. The results for climate change (CC) and particulate matter (PM) show that (i) small-scale solid wood-based biomass systems still pose significant risks to air quality and public health, with limited (and uncertain) CC benefits; (ii) higher-efficiency heating systems may reduce PM trade-offs, but their CC benefits are limited due to supply chain impacts; and (iii) large-scale heating systems, such as district heating, can offer larger environmental benefits than small-scale systems. A complementary analysis shows that the results for PM are generally underestimated and overlook the variability of health effects resulting from air pollutant emissions across cities. The framework is widely applicable and, complemented with case-specific data, it can provide relevant results to inform policymaking at multiple geographical and institutional scales.
Air quality index · Climate change · Environmental impact assessment · European union · Fossil fuel · Particulates · Supply chain · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Integrated Energy Systems Optimization · Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |