While bioenergy is generally agreed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale, environmental activists argue that increased biomass demand can create significant social and environmental pressure in the locations where the biomass is produced. The impact is primarily related to the low surface power density of biomass. The low surface power density has the effect that much larger land areas are needed in order to produce the same amount of energy, compared to for instance fossil fuels. Feasibility assessments to replace coal in German power plants with bush biomass harvested in Namibia, which experiences bush encroachment on over 30 million hectares, have caused protests from environmental organisations. The organisations argue that the trees and bushes store carbon, and that burning them releases more CO2 upfront than burning coal.
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