How biomass contributes to the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , approved in September 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, represents the commitment of the international community to face the social, economic and environmental challenges of globalization , putting people at the center. , the planet, prosperity and peace. Their motto is 'leave no one behind'.

Termosun company 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 objective of advancing towards societies with inclusive economic growth. and greater cohesion and social justice, in peace and with a sustainable environmental horizon.

Health and well-being
Goal 3 : Ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of 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 practically neutral fuel in terms of CO2 emissions. Current equipment carries out continuous combustion control and uses automatic filtering and exchanger cleaning systems.

Renewable and efficient energy
Goal 7 : Guarantee access to affordable, safe, sustainable and modern energy for all people. “Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.” “Substantially increase the percentage of renewable energy in the set of energy sources.”

Biomass is a universal, renewable and efficient heat source that does not depend on external factors such as meteorological factors. It is therefore the only technology, along with hydraulics, capable of producing energy with 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, the creation of decent jobs, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.” “Progressively improve the efficient production and consumption of the world's resources 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 the added value throughout 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 encourage innovation. “Modernize infrastructure and reconvert industries so that they are sustainable, using resources more effectively and promoting the adoption of clean and environmentally rational technologies and industrial processes.”

In this sense, biomass offers competitiveness, efficiency, savings and energy independence. Being a less centralized energy model, with biomass there are fewer distribution losses, supply adapts to demand and greater employment is generated.

Sustainable communities
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. “Reduce the negative per capita environmental impact of cities, with special attention to air quality, as well as waste management.” “Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas.”

Installing biomass boilers instead of fossil fuels reduces emissions and improves air quality in urban areas. Furthermore, the generation of energy with biomass is a driver of sustainable employment in rural environments, affected in many cases by depopulation.

Efficient use of natural resources
Objective 12 : Guarantee sustainable consumption and production patterns. “Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.” “Achieve ecologically sound management of chemicals and all waste throughout their life cycle and significantly reduce release to the atmosphere, water and soil in order to minimize adverse health effects.” human and the environment.

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

Reduce the impact of climate change
Goal 13: Adopt urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects. “Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related risks and natural disasters in all countries.”

The neutral emission of greenhouse gases from 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 types of forests, end deforestation, recover degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation on a global scale.”

The intelligent and well-managed use of biomass contributes to improving forest management and reducing the risk of fire. In this way it significantly helps preserve forest heritage.