INTERNATIONAL BIOMASS TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: AN OVERVIEW
Journal Title: CES Working Papers - Year 2011, Vol 3, Issue 4
Abstract
It is crystal clear that the neoclassical economical theory, despite being probably the best growth model ever invented by man, tickled a cost of environmental degradation which can threaten our wealth and even our existence. For this reason, the concept of sustainable development (SD) is so empathic, being considered probably the best theoretical alternative invented by man to standard growth, because of its vision of a better world, where economics, society and environment are intimately linked. Thus, all human activities have to adapt to this new paradigm, in order to achieve its goals. From the economical perspective, production, consumption and trade must incorporate a kind of sustainable type of activity. In the recent years, growing demands in energy use and the increase of oil and coal prices, have led to the usage of new energy sources such as biomass, water, solar, wind and geothermal energy. This is why we propose in this paper to present an overview of international trade in biomass reported to the philosophy of SD. In short, we want to give an answer at two questions: how much is biomass trade sustainable and what risks may arise if the main source of energy used today, based on fossil fuels, will be totally substitute by biomass? To be sustainable, biomass, must meet certain criteria, such as: to possess a high capacity for regeneration, in a relatively short time; to offer a better efficiency compared with the traditional fossil fuel sources; to be less or non-polluting, to be used in solid, liquid and gaseous form; to have a broad applicability in production and consumption; to have a competitive level in terms of costs and prices for transport or storage, in both stages, as a raw material or as a finished product; to be a good substitute of traditional fuels (gasoline or diesel), without the necessity for structural changes of the of the engine. The article will conclude that the uprising trend of the EU biomass trade and consumption will continue, because of grown concerns of the EU Member States regarding the effects that greenhouse gas emissions have over the environment and over the quality of life standard, despite the critics which states that biomass production may have negative environmental effects, leading to massive deforestation and destruction of soil, water sources and natural habitat.
Authors and Affiliations
Catalin Chiriac , Nicoleta Rusu
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP150631
- DOI -
- Views 144
- Downloads 0
REFERENCES OF THE NEW THEORY OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
This paper shows that the dynamization of the traditional theory of international trade through the study of growth effects on the foreign trade in the framework of neoclassical analysis, alongside the approach with the...
ROMANIA - METAMORPHOSIS OF A DEVELOPING COUNTRY AND THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF MIGRATION
This insight will serve to highlight the trend experienced by the Romanian population, since 1990 until present, focusing on two main dimensions, one that takes into account the demographic aspects and the other that con...
THE TRANSITION AND PRIVATIZATION PROCESSES IN ROMANIA
The transition to an economy that operates on market principles represents a period of profound changes based on redefining the paradigms of development. After more than 20 years from the 1989 events, Romania has alread...
THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE VALUE RELEVANCE LITERATURE
In the last decades, numerous studies have covered the relationship between stock price or stock return and financial information. These studies represent the "value-relevance" literature. Knowledge of this area of inter...
THE LOYAL CUSTOMERS’ PERCEPTION REGARDING THE ONLINE BUYING PROCESS
The purpose of the research is to investigate the Romanian online customers’ perception as regards to the process of buying products from the Internet. The research objectives are: (1) to identify the advantages and disa...