Europe and Central Asia
FAO's energy activities in the European and Central Asian region emphasize the need to promote technologies and strategies for the use of renewable energy sources adapted to the socio-economic needs of populations, particularly in rural areas, with the special attention to agriculture and forest based bioenergy.
FAO's technical assistance activities recognize that agriculture and forestry, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, have a multiple roles and potential, so as promoting the production of bioenergy. FAO activities take an integrated approach to the assessment, planning and implementation of bioenergy for sustainable agricultural and rural development. Second, and future third generation biofuel applications have a critical role in not just farm income diversification, but mitigation of climate change, decreasing fossil fuel dependency and treatment of agricultural wastes and residues. FAO is working on the gathering of information with regard to the dynamics of fuelwood flows and has been providing multidisciplinary approaches and technical expertise in the field of bioenergy.
Wood energy data and projections are a major component of FAO's energy activities working in close collaboration with UNECE. In close collaboration with UNIDO and UNEP, FAO has been involved in addressing the issues of renewable energy in the countries of Carpathian Convention. FAO has also been assisting Member Countries in enhancing institutional capacity for evaluation and development of sound bioenergy strategies, programmes and projects compatible with the sustainable management of the forestry, energy and agricultural sectors, as well as strengthening national capacity for use of marginal and contaminated land for biofuel production. In response to the challenges of climate change FAO has assisted in FAO has assisted in building capacity of national and local institutions for managing climate change risks in rural and coastal development.
Outstanding challenges are adaptation to climate change and development and implementation of rural energy policies and programmes with concerted action of all rural stakeholders and in partnership with private and public sector are in focus of FAO REU activities. The physical and economic accessibility to sustainable bioenergy by small and medium sized rural enterprises as income-generating and subsistence activities are becoming an increasingly important task for FAO.
Past and future events
- Modern Wood Energy Systems and Markets - an Opportunity for South East Europe, Timisoara, Romania, September 2008
- Conference on Climate Change and European Agriculture, Budapest, Hungary, October 2008
- Wood energy - the fuel of choice for Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia, December 2008
- Workshop on "Policy options for wood energy" Tbilisi, Georgia, November 2009
- UNECE/FAO workshop on "Policy Options for Wood Energy in South-East Europe", 17-20 November 2009 - Dubrovnik, Croatia
- Expert consultation on "Potential for biofuel production of small and medium farms in Eastern Europe and Central Asia", Ankara, Turkey, October 2009
- UNECE/UNIDO/FAO workshop on "Policy Options for Wood Energy in CIS Countries", 2nd Quarter of 2010 - Minsk, Belarus
For more information
Contact
Regional Office: FAO-SEUR@fao.org