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The Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) hosted an experts’ workshop on biomass use and its future prospects in Korea, Germany and Japan.
At the workshop, which was held on December 8 to seek policy measures that can spur biomass use and promote cooperative research between the nations, presentations were made to introduce country experience in biomass use as an industry development, providing an invaluable opportunity to share ideas among related researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and civil rights activists.
With regard to the task of accelerating the use of biomass in Korea, Kang Chang-Yong, a senior researcher at KREI, delivered a presentation, in which he asserted that the government needs to set up a unitary task force to come up with biomass development strategies and oversee the biomass industry. Kang added that the government also needs to examine biomass supply by type, methods of use, and benefits as part of its detailed policy task of the future, and advised the government to unfold PR campaigns propagating the usefulness of biomass and make preparations for building a distribution system that can create a market.
Introducing the German experience in biomass use for energy, Dr. Ernst Kursten from the University of Gottingen said that the German public interest in biomass as an energy source has continued to grow. As a result, he said, a vast number of German farmers are deeply enthusiastic about producing bio energy while the German government provides various tax benefits and subsidies in addition to supports for energy recycling.
As for Japan, Professor Sasaki Ichio at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine explained that biomass has been given much importance in Japan due to new energy policies of the government to prevent the greenhouse effect. Explaining that biomass strategies have been implemented across ministries since the Japanese government ratified them in 2004, Professor Ichio added that “Biomass Town Initiative” was introduced in Japan as a base model for realizing the Recycling-Oriented Society.
Following the presentation, in the meantime, a heated discussion ensued among the participants from various organizations that include ministries, research institutions, corporations, and civil rights groups.
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