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Energy is a critical underpinning issue in the sustainable development agenda of developing countries. Most energy sources are dependent on ecosystem services ranging from traditional (polluting) to renewable fuel. Energy use will remain a critical environmental and developmental issue and future emissions will be largely dependent on the way energy is harnessed, processed, transmitted and consumed. Ecosystem goods and services are increasingly under threat from climate change and energy security of rural poor people across the world is in stake too.

Ecosystem dependent energy sources like biomass are subjected to be influenced by the climate shifts and hence the biomass resource dependent community in the developing and least developed countries. Currently, 1.6 billion people in the world lack access to electricity and over 2.5 billion people depend on biomass fuels for cooking and heating. The impact of climate change on the livelihood of these sections of community would be devastating in the long run.

Ensuring energy security through maintaining the ecosystem integrity and fostering rural development in the face of anticipated climate change must occupy the top priority. Amidst increasing emphasis on liquid biofuel yielding crops world over, the threat on biodiversity, agricultural productivity, water availability and health concerns of women and children has invited the attention of researchers and policy makers.

Despite the tremendous importance, and complex inter linkages, the issues inherent to Climate Change and Bioenergy are grossly unexplored.

I would like to initiate a discussion on the far-reaching consequences of bioenergy usage in the rural livelihood context in this forum of bioenergy specialists and enthusiasts.

Dr. A.Arivudai Nambi
M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), India

[namiz]

The impacts on and impacts of climate change due to generation and use of bioenergy through a dedicated bioenergy plantation can minimise the negative effects. Still, we hardly find any such dedicated and (well calculated) energy plantations in the world, particularly in developing nations.