Biomass includes all plant and plant-derived material — essentially all energy originally captured by photosynthesis. This means that biomass is a fully renewable resource and that its use for biomass-derived fuels, power, chemicals, materials, or other products essentially generates no net greenhouse gas.

Bioenergy resources such as forestry and agriculture crops, biomass residues and wastes already provide about 14% of the world's primary energy supplies.
Bioenergy offers cost-effective and sustainable opportunities with the potential to meet 50% of world energy demands during the next century and at the same time meet the requirement of reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuels.