Outlook for future wood fuel markets

The last decade has seen notable increases in wood fuel production, consumption and trade across the UNECE region. Most of these changes have been policy induced by the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, which required increased renewable energy use leading to greater wood pellet consumption, primarily in utility scale facilities. As a consequence, trans-Atlantic and intra-European trade in wood pellets increased. Other forms of wood fuels, including black liquor, wood processing residues, waste wood, and firewood, are less frequently traded for energetic purposes—they are primarily consumed in the country in which they are produced or traded for material use in the wood processing industry.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Responsible Consumption and Production

Life on Land