Agricultural Biomass and Bioenergy in Austria. An Analysis of Their Economic and Environmental Significance

In many regions of Austria arable farming plays an important role. The products are partly sold as fodder in the livestock industry, and partly as the basis for foodstuffs such as flour and sugar. For just over a decade, energy recovery has also been of great importance and the raw materials produced in arable farming have been processed into high-quality products which are also used in the paper industry, construction, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, for example. The overarching objective of the planned study is to present the economic and climate policy significance of sustainably produced renewable raw materials in Austrian agriculture. The second objective of the planned investigation is to present the material use of arable crops as well as the quantity and energy flows. In addition to the energetic use for the energy market, the utilisation of co-products in feeding will also be considered. The third objective of the planned study is to shed light on the extent to which the provision of bioenergy in arable farming and other agriculture contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Austria.