An essential
prerequisite for the implementation of alternative
energy crop and agroforestry schemes is to
ensure their ecological, economic and social
sustainability. Practical mechanisms for defining,
monitoring and rewarding good sustainability
practice are beginning to emerge both locally
and globally. Ensuring the ‘renewable’
status of bioenergy means tailoring these
mechanisms to each bioenergy production system,
irrespective of location, scale or technology.
COMPETE Conference and Policy Debate on ‘Biofuels Sustainability Schemes - An African Perspective'Results
Arusha, Tanzania (16-19 June 2008), this international conference was organised by Imperial College, United Kingdom and WIP Renewable Energies, Germany in cooperation with TaTEDO, Tanzania.
The COMPETE Conference and Policy Debate brought together more than 60 high-level participants including decision makers from several African countries, representatives from the Private Sector, NGOs, the donor community, FAO, UNEP, international initiatives (e.g. RSB) as well as national and international energy experts and stakeholders.
The main aim of this COMPETE conference was to elaborate recommendations addressing the opportunities and challenges of the global bioenergy development from an African Perspective.
The main outcome of the COMPETE Conference and Policy Debate on ‘Biofuels Sustainability Schemes - An African Perspective' was the elaboration of a COMPETE Declaration on Sustainable Bioenergy for Africa along the lines of two Roundtable Discussions engaging high-level decision-makers from Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, as well as the Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA).
Current
European Biofuel-Sustainability Initiatives
For
biofuels to be deemed environmentally compatible,
it is necessary to demonstrate that they are
produced on an environmentally sustainable
basis, and that they contribute positively
to climate change mitigation (COM, 2006).
Currently, sustainability initiatives for
biofuels exist in the United Kingdom, The
Netherlands and Germany as well as on EU level.
ly, sustainability initiatives for biofuels exist in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Germany as well as on EU level.
The
Energy Center at the Swiss Federal Technical
Institute in Lausanne (EPFL) is coordinating
a multi-stakeholder effort, the Roundtable
on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), to develop
draft global standards for sustainable biofuels
production.
RSB
addresses the question of 'How can we ensure
that biofuels are truly a friend to the environment
and society, and not a foe?' - which is currently
of prime importance for the development of
biofuels, energy crops and all biomass use
in general - and therefore also at the heart
of the COMPETE project.
On August 13th, 2008, the Roundtable's Steering Board announced a new draft of sustainability standards for sustainable biofuels, developed over the past year by stakeholders from around the world. 'Version Zero' can be downloaded here.
The
COMPETE project established close cooperation
links with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
(RSB) and the following COMPETE partners are
currently involved in RSB activities:
- Ibrahim
Togola (Mali Folkecenter), Founding Steering
Board Member
- Jeremy
Woods (Imperial College), GHG Working Group
on Greenhouse Gas Lifecycle Efficiency Analysis
- Christine
Dragisic (Conservation International), ENV
Working Group on Environmental Impacts
We
strongly encourage COMPETE Partners (especially
partners from Africa) to get involved in the
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels as representatives
of the COMPETE project.
For
more information on the Roundtable on Sustainable
Biofuels (RSB) and the results and activities
of the Working Groups click
here
The COMPETE International Workshop on 25-27 November 2008 in Bamako, Mali was organised in close cooperation with the Round Table on Sustainable Biofuels and included a RSB Regional Consultation West Africa. Proceedings of the workshop can be downloaded here.
Summary of the RSB Regional Consultation West Africa (English, French)
Workshops on Biofuels and Climate Change:
The IEA and the International SCOPE Biofuels Project both held workshops on sustainability and made their resutlts available in reports.
- To find out more about the IEA workshop: "biofuels for transport - Part of a sustainable future?", please click here.
- To find out more about the International SCOPE Biofuels Project "workshop on the environmental effects of biofuels technologies, please click here.
The European Commission has published a preparatory draft for stakeholder and expert comments entitled: "Indirect land use change - Possible elements of a policy approach - preparatory fraft for stakeholder/expert comments". This document is available here.
