There are number of risks to the supply of biomass that need effective management. DESNZ’s Biomass Strategy identified a number of challenges for its use in the future which it needs to manage, including making sure that it has a secure supply of biomass and that it prioritises its use. In 2022, around two–thirds of biomass used in electricity generation, heat and transport was produced from domestic sources, with a third imported. The Department describes itself as agnostic as to whether biomass is sourced domestically or from overseas. However, the Climate Change Committee’s most recent advice, covering Carbon Budget 7, suggests that sustainable biomass will become harder to source on global markets. It therefore expects imports of biomass to have ceased by 2050, with domestic sources providing all the biomass required. But there are competing pressures on land use at home–for example, food production and reforestation. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is currently consulting on a ‘Land Use Framework’ which will help inform 6 decisions on how best to use land to meet government’s various priorities. Meanwhile importing biomass involves long supply chains, which makes assuring sustainability criteria are met challenging. Such challenges may be amplified by the USA’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. recommendation DESNZ should make sure it has an approach in place for identifying and then mitigating the risks to the supply of biomass, both domestically and internationally. 7 1 Biomass sustainability and supply Introduction