How biomass contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , adopted in September 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, represents the commitment of the international community to address the social, economic, and environmental challenges of globalization , placing people, the planet, prosperity, and peace at its core. Its motto is 'leave no one behind'.

The company Termosun has carried out an analysis of the values ​​and characteristics of biomass to see how this renewable technology contributes to the achievement of many of these objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which have the ultimate goal of moving towards societies with inclusive economic growth and greater social cohesion and justice, in peace and with a sustainable environmental horizon.

Health and well-being
Goal 3 : Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages . “Substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses caused by hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution.”

Biomass is a virtually carbon-neutral fuel. Current equipment continuously monitors combustion and uses automatic filtration and heat exchanger cleaning systems.

Renewable and efficient energy.
Goal 7 : Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. “Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services.” “Substantially increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix.”

Biomass is a universal, renewable, and efficient heat source that is not dependent on external factors such as weather. It is therefore the only technology, along with hydropower, capable of producing energy from renewable resources in a stable manner.

Sustainable Economic Growth
Goal 8 : Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. “Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.” “Progressively improve global resource consumption and production efficiency and decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.”

Biomass is based on a distributed energy model in which generation occurs close to the point of supply. It redistributes added value across the entire value chain, is produced locally, and replaces the consumption of fossil fuels from other countries. It is estimated that biomass generates three new jobs for every MWt.

Energy independence
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. “Modernize infrastructure and transform industries to be sustainable, using resources more efficiently and promoting the adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.”

In this sense, biomass offers competitiveness, efficiency, savings, and energy independence. As a less centralized energy model, biomass results in fewer distribution losses, supply adapts to demand, and generates more employment.

Sustainable Communities
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. “Reduce the adverse environmental impact per capita of cities, with a focus on air quality and waste management.” “Support positive economic, social and environmental linkages between urban, peri-urban and rural areas.”

Installing biomass boilers instead of fossil fuels reduces emissions and improves air quality in urban areas. Furthermore, biomass energy generation is a driver of sustainable employment in rural areas, which are often affected by depopulation.

Efficient use of natural resources.
Goal 12 : Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. “Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.” “Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle and significantly reduce releases to air, water and soil in order to minimize adverse effects on human health and the environment.”

Biomass is one of nature's most abundant resources. Nearly 40% of the world's population uses it for cooking and heating. Its intelligent and sustainable use, supported by technology, offers enormous advantages and synergies to society. The resulting byproducts are applied as biofertilizers within a circular economy.

Reducing the impact of climate change.
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. “Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related risks and natural disasters in all countries.”

The neutral emission of greenhouse gases by biomass contributes to reducing the impact of climate change.

Forest Management
Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss. “Promote sustainable management of all forest types, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.”

The intelligent and well-managed use of biomass contributes to improved forest management and reduces the risk of fire. In this way, it significantly helps to preserve forest resources.