Biomass is not sufficient to replace fossil fuels
If current consumption trends continue, the sustainably available biomass will not be sufficient to completely replace fossil and other non-renewable resources.
This is shown in a new study by researchers at the University of Kassel. It also shows that the ecological footprints of Germany’s bioeconomy significantly exceed the calculated benchmarks for globally safe and equitable resource use. The study develops various benchmarks to assess Germany’s resource consumption in relation to global carrying capacities, global average resource consumption, and sustainable national supply capacities.
The bioeconomy aims to gradually replace fossil-based raw materials with biological resources. “Our study asks the question: How much is too much? A sustainable bioeconomy can only succeed if we also take into account how much we consume in Germany and how much is available in an ecologically safe and socially just manner,” explains Dr. Meghan Beck-O’Brien of KIS.
Comparison of Five Ecological Footprints
Using one of the benchmarks developed, the research team compared the ecological footprints of the German bioeconomy with globally safe and equitable reference values for five environmental categories: arable land use, sustainable timber harvesting, biomass production, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
All five ecological footprints of the German bioeconomy examined fall outside the defined framework for globally safe and equitable resource use. Specifically, the German footprints exceed the estimated lower limit of the range by a factor of 1.6 to 4.2. According to the calculations, the upper limit is also exceeded by a factor of 0.9 to 3. Germany thus exhibits an above-average level of consumption.
Proposal for Regular Monitoring The researchers
therefore recommend regular monitoring that tracks Germany’s direct and indirect resource consumption as well as sustainably available resources. The data is intended to support policy decisions and strengthen public discourse on what sustainable consumption means.
What does this mean in summary?
- If current consumption trends continue, the sustainably available biomass will not be sufficient to completely replace fossil and other non-renewable resources.
- Germany’s ecological footprints associated with the bioeconomy exceed the calculated globally safe and equitable benchmarks in all areas examined.
- The researchers recommend regular monitoring to transparently assess Germany’s direct and indirect resource consumption in relation to sustainably available resources and to support policy decisions.
- Die Publikation “Quantifying overconsumption: Deriving safe and equitable benchmarks to evaluate the environmental footprints of Germany’s bioeconomy” ist im Fachjournal Sustainable Production and Consumption frei zugänglich: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2026.05.009
- Das Projekt SYMOBIO
