Влияние политических взглядов и доверия к рынку на готовность лесных владельцев поставлять биотопливо

Their views are shaped by political beliefs, cultural values, personal experience, trust in markets and perceptions of local communities, the researchers reported in 2025. The study, published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, volume 126, examined how forest landowners and other stakeholders connect — or do not connect — climate change with the development of energy produced from woody biomass. The findings are significant because landowners’ willingness to supply forest materials is important to the operation and expansion of bioenergy facilities. “Neither bioenergy nor climate change is an isolated issue, but rather they are embedded within a matrix of cultural values, political ideologies, and personal lived experiences,” the researchers wrote. The research was conducted by Sarah Hitchner of the University of Georgia, John Schelhas and J. Peter Brosius. It was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Sustainable Bioenergy Challenge Area. The researchers used mixed ethnographic methods in rural communities across the Southeast that have forest-based economies and wood-based bioenergy facilities. The work included interviews with landowners and other stakeholders, as well as observations at regional bioenergy conferences and public or semi-public meetings. The study found that bioenergy proponents, scientists, policymakers, local leaders, environmental advocates and landowners often assign different meanings to the relationship between forest-based energy and climate change. Some proponents present wood-based bioenergy as a means of supporting rural development, energy independence and climate mitigation. Other environmental advocates question whether wood-based bioenergy reduces emissions once forest harvesting, transportation and energy production are considered. The researchers said some industry advocates also argue that bioenergy development will continue regardless of whether people accept the scientific case for human-caused climate change. “Many environmental advocates believe climate change is a vital issue to address but question bioenergy’s climate-mitigating impacts,” the researchers said. The study said assumptions that landowners will participate because it is economically rational can overlook concerns about market reliability, environmental effects, community impacts and long-term forest management. Previous research cited in the study found that landowners in Alabama, Georgia and Florida were interested in supplying biomass as a byproduct of timber harvesting but were less willing to produce it specifically for bioenergy because access to markets was limited or uncertain. The researchers also reported that some community members, including minorities and politically progressive residents, expressed concerns about ecological effects and environmental justice. According to the study, those concerns were sometimes discounted by bioenergy proponents who framed development as inevitable. The study’s findings did not establish a single regional view of wood-based bioenergy. Instead, the researchers described a set of competing narratives that are adapted to different audiences, including arguments focused on jobs and rural development, environmental sustainability, energy independence or climate change. The authors said the research was limited by its multi-site design, which did not involve a full year of fieldwork at one location. They also reported that some participants were hesitant to discuss race and other sensitive issues and that the researchers encountered distrust related to their university and government affiliations. “Complicated linkages” shape how rural forest landowners understand climate science, renewable energy and the relationship of both issues to their forests and communities, the researchers concluded. The researchers said the findings point to the need for further attention to local experience, market conditions and community concerns in planning forest-based bioenergy development.