Int´l agencies: scaling up the bioeconomy is both unavoidable and can be done sustainably

Energy experts from key international agencies delivered a strong collective message during the June 8 Biofuture/Mission Innovation event at the Beijing 8th Clean Energy Ministerial Summit and 2nd Mission Innovation Ministerial (CEM8/MI2).

Paolo Frankl, head of the renewable energy division of the International Energy Agency, advocated that “Sustainable bioenergy is a major unavoidable component of the portfolio needed in a low carbon energy economy”. “Low carbon fuels will play an important role in de-carbonizing transport no matter how much we stretch other technologies.”

The growing awareness about the need to dramatically scale up the low carbon bioeconomy was paired with a convergent understanding that it can be done sustainably, given the right policies, practices and frameworks. That was the message presented by a joint interagency joint policy statement on “Bioenergy for Sustainable Development”, encapsulating the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Renewable Energy Agency, (IRENA), and the IEA-Bioenergy technical cooperation programme.

“There is a high risk of failing to meet long-term climate targets without bioenergy” as “bioenergy accounts for three-quarters of all renewable energy use today and half of the most cost-effective options for doubling renewable energy use by 2030” underlines Dolf Gielen, director of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), presenting the document.

The event was organized, in partnership with Mission Innovation, by the Biofuture Platform, a coalition of 20 leading countries devoted to accelerate investments and increase international collaboration in the low carbon bioeconomy.

Other speakers in the event, including government officials, investors, industry representatives and academia, singled out the recent contributions of Mission Innovation and the Biofuture Platform, as country-led multilateral initiatives, and of below50, a private-sector led initiative, to contribute to fulfill that need. Presentations showcased activities, research projects, policies, investment plans and promising new technologies to achieve performance breakthroughs and cost reductions for sustainable large scale production and utilization of advanced biofuels and biomass. Some presentations are available in the links below.

Further images of the event can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149592440@N05/sets/72157685061507545/with/34465803424/

PROGRAMME

9:30 NETWORKING TEA-BREAK

10:00 CONTEXT-SETTING: THE CASE TO SCALE UP AN ADVANCED BIOECONOMY AND RECENT GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTOR EFFORTS

Moderator – Mr. Luiz Barroso, Brazil´s Head of Delegation for the CEM Ministerial and President of Brazil´s Energy Planning Agency

10:00 – Opening the Meeting & Introductions | Mr. Luiz Barroso, Brazil´s Head of Delegation for the CEM Ministerial and President of Brazil´s Energy Planning Agency | Frank Des Rosiers, Assistant Deputy Minister, Innovation and Energy Technology, Department of Natural Resources Canada

10:15 – Bioenergy and climate change mitigation: The need for massive scale up | Paolo Frankl, Head of the Renewable Energy Division at the International Energy Agency (IEA)

10:30 – Bioenergy for Sustainable Development – A joint vision by FAO, IEA Bioenergy and IRENA | Dolf Gielen, Director, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

10:45 – Mission Innovation Sustainable Biofuels Innovation Challenge and workplan | Frank Des Rosiers, Assistant Deputy Minister, Innovation and Energy Technology, Department of Natural Resources Canada

10:55 – Biofuture Platform activities and conferences | Luis Fernando Machado, Biofuture Platform interim facilitator (Brazil)

11h05 – Discussion

11:30 PANEL OVERVIEW: RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS AND PERSPECTIVES TO SCALE UP SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY

Moderator – Gerard J. Ostheimer, Ph.D. Global Lead for Sustainable Bioenergy, SEforALL & below50

11:30 –Private Sector Linkages – below50 Brief | Gerard J. Ostheimer, Ph.D. Global Lead for Sustainable Bioenergy, SEforALL & below50

11:40 – Industrial bioeconomy developments in China | Li Bei, Deputy General Manager and Party Secretary, COFCO Biochem.

11:50 – Private Sector Perspective on the Global Bioeconomy | Andy Zhou, Director of Biorefining in Asia Pacific, Novozymes

12:00 – Discussion

12:25 – CONCLUSIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT STEPS: SBIC/Biofuture survey and reports, Biofuture Vision Statement | Biofuture Platform interim facilitator (Brazil)

12:30 Adjournment