Biomass and Carbon Neutrality

On March 20, 2023, as part of the Americana 2023 environmental forum held in Montreal, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, unveiled nearly $10 million in support for sixteen study projects that will be carried out in Canada to identify, accelerate and evaluate mitigation measures that can help the country achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Among these funds, a $450,000 contribution from Environment and Climate Change Canada has been awarded to the Institut de l'énergie Trottier (IET) at Polytechnique Montréal to support a project focusing on the energy potential of biomass to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding comes from the Climate Action and Awareness Fund. The funding announcement was made by the Carbon Neutrality Advisory Group.

This project aims to improve understanding of the issues surrounding the use of biomass, in a context of decarbonisation of the Canadian economy. The aim is to develop an overview of the various ways in which biomass can be used, integrating energy and non-energy uses, and then to develop an evaluation and comparison grid for analysing exploitation possibilities that are compatible with achieving carbon neutrality.

The project is currently in its final phase. After two years spent studying current practices, organising discussions with stakeholders and experts, and co-developing an assessment and comparison framework for biomass uses in the context of the transition to net zero consumption by 2050, a decision-support tool is being developed.

This tool, together with the final report on the approach needed to assess biomass uses in the context of the transition to net zero, will be available shortly.