Vasja Leban, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Resume/ Abstract

The European Union’s (EU) policies emanated during the last decade in the energy, climate and rural development sectors, foster an increased reliance on wood energy as a contribution to achieving low carbon economy. While evidence exists that stakeholders from three EU Member States (MSs) with different characteristics (Germany, Slovenia and Spain) were often uncertain about the feasibility of applying the EU's policy ambitions, they support the EU’s discourses regarding the role of wood energy in boosting the competitiveness of the forest sector, contributing to climate change reduction and maintaining different forest functions. In order to achieve an increased reliance on wood energy, EU policy makers are encouraged to consider using positive considerations of the wood energy role to underpin their strategies and, at the same time, work on reducing the effects of environmental trade-offs by prioritising at supranational level the policy objectives that affect the environment.