their resemblance with weeds) and social concerns. On the other hand, bioenergy can positively contribute to climate change mitigation, although this potential differs strongly from case to case and costs have to be compared to other mitigation options.

Institutional arrangements. Institutional arrangements and power relationships strongly impact the ability of different stakeholders to participate in bioenergy production and consumption and the distribution of costs and benefits. The current weaknesses in institutional links and responsibili­ties between the various sectors involved in the policy and

technology of agriculture as an energy consumer and pro­ducer will have to be overcome through local, national and regional frameworks.

Integrated analysis. The economics of bioenergy as well as positive and negative environmental and social effects are highly complex, depend considerably on particular circum­stances and have important distributional implications. Con­sequently, decision makers need to carefully weigh full social, environmental and economic costs of the targeted form of bioenergy and of the envisaged support policy against real­istically achievable benefits and other energy alternatives.