Sustainable development of bioenergy sector: an integrated methodological framework

Abstract

Climate change and sustainable development are interrelated issues, which are of vital importance to government policy and corporate decision makers. The sustainability evaluation of a biomass-based technology with consideration of stakeholder interests can provide a foundation for implementing energy and environmental policies. This study aims to develop an integrated and structured methodological framework for analysing biofuel systems in pursuit of sustainable large scale production. The integrated assessment framework can assist to formulate integrative and transparent policies for sustainable biomass certification. The proposed framework uses first the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to aid in extracting knowledge and judgments from stakeholders. AHP determines the critical criteria and indicators representing conflicting stakeholders' interests which can be incorporated in creating a dynamic system model for landscape-scale bioenergy modelling and assessment. An integrated AHP and system dynamics approach is currently being applied to assess the sustainable development of forest bioenergy sector in Maine, USA.