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  • Page | Last updated: 02 Jul 2025

Background of The JRC Biomass Mandate

Establishing terms of reference and launching leaflet from 2015.

Introduction

The demand for biomass is increasing worldwide. The EU’s Green Deal priorities and the EU’s green recovery may have strong impacts on biomass supply, demand and flows, which must be reconciled with environmental, social and economic sustainability in Europe as well as globally. Sectorial policies address the issue of biomass supply and demand and their impacts from quite diverse, and at times contrasting, perspectives.

A balanced overview

Recognising the need for a balanced, overarching and scientifically robust approach to assess the status and trends of biomass sources and uses, twelve European Commission (EC) services (DG AGRI, DG CLIMA, DG INTPA, DG ENER, DG ENV, DG GROW, DG MARE, DG MOVE, DG REGIO, DG RTD, DG TRADE, SG) have given the Joint Research Centre (JRC) the mandate to provide data, models and analyses on EU and global biomass supply and demand and its environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The research, initiated in 2015, covers all sources of biomass, agricultural, forest, marine and freshwater, and includes an assessment of the impacts of the production and use of biomass, and the competition and the synergies between sectors for biomass resources. This assessment is designed to support the implementation of policy measures, and to develop and analyse scenarios for biomass supply and demand with short–term (2030), medium-term (2050) and long-term (2070) perspectives.

The JRC is thus tasked with providing the EC services, on a long-term basis, with data, models and analyses of EU and global biomass potential, supply, demand and related sustainability. The building of a comprehensive and coherent framework to handle the complexity of the issues at stake requires integration across sectors and policies, and calls for state-of-the-art biomass-related data, knowledge and modelling tools.

The activities have been organised in the JRC by setting up an institutional project, that is carried out within the scope of the Mandate on the provision of data and analysis on biomass supply and demand on a long-term basis and coordinated with the policy Directorate-Generals (DGs) of the European Commission. 

Mandate on the Provision of Data and Analysis on Biomass Supply and Demand by the JRC on a Long - Term Basis

 

Technical Specifications for the first two years of the Mandate (2015-2016)

 

Leaflet - The JRC Biomass Assessment Study