11 Nov 2024
Sustainability Governance - Bioenergy
Background
IEA Workshop on Sustainability Governance, 25 April 2017
Background
The debate about the sustainability of bioenergy continues. There is a lack of political and public confidence that bioenergy can really make a contribution to global carbon emissions without having other negative sustainability impacts and they find it difficult to distinguish between “good” and “bad” biomass options. This contributes to policy uncertainty which in turn undermines the prospects for investment and deployment. One key to the significant expansion of bioenergy foreseen in the Bioenergy roadmap is to have a robust bioenergy sustainability governance framework which provides assurance that bioenergy meets appropriate but strict sustainability criteria.
The Aim
The aim of this workshop was to review the criteria which “sustainable biomass” needs to meet, and to identify what principles need to underlie an appropriate governance framework, building on work already carried out by international organisations, national and regional initiatives and industry based initiatives.
Outcome
A proposal for a comprehensive sustainability framework which can be embodied in the IEA bioenergy roadmap and other publications.
Meeting Summary
Presentations:
Uwe R. Fritsche, IINAS, Principles for a sustainable bioenergy with a sustainable bioeconomy
Giulio Volpi, EU Sustainability
Keith Kline, Oakridge National Laboratory, Biomass Resources & Sustainability Assessment in the US
Renato Godinho, Itamararty, Brazil Experience and Approach
Michela Morese, GBEP, Sustainability Indicators for Bioenergy
Simon Armstrong, Sustainable Bioenergy Programme
Elena Schmidt, RSB, Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials
Summaries, Sub-Groups: