SCOPE Biofuels: Rapid Assessment Process Workshop 22

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SCOPE BiofuelsRapid Assessment Process
Workshop22 25 September, Gummersbach/Germany

• Bioenergy risks and opportunities
• Martina Otto
• Head Policy Unit, Energy Branch
• United Nations Environment Programme

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Drivers
Challenges
Energy Security
Development
Climate Change
Biodiversity
Food
produce as much as possible
change land use as little as possible
water
involve communities as much as possible
crop and pathway choices
integrated assessment to achieve a balance
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Risks Opportunities
Climate change

• GHG reductions
• (crop choices / pathways / utilisation of
  bi-products)

• Conversion of high carbon storage value lands
• Destruction of under ground carbon storage

Biodiversity

• Conversion of high conservation value areas
• Large scale / monocultures
• Invasive species
• Biotech
• Intensive ag.

• Investment into conservation
• Conservation ag

Food

• Increased local food production (intercropping,
  crop rotation, improvement of land/reclaiming
  waste land, ag practices)
• Increased income / access to markets

• Conversion of land used for food production
• Availability and prices, particularly of stable
  food

Water

• Overuse of water resources, impacting
• ecosystems and competing with other uses
• Contamination

• Better penetration of water
• Improved access to water

Development

• Expropriation
• Exploitation

• Increased incomes
• Access to energy and other services

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Biofuels are not good or bad per se all
depends on planning and implementation both on
the macro and project levels, and involves trade
offs

• land use choices
• crop and pathway choices
• ag practices
• business models incl. scale of operations

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Tools for decision-makers, both in governments
and in industry to ensure maximising benefits and
minimizing risks

• resource efficiency (energy needs for cooking,
  lighting, heating, for transport, for productive
  use biomass use for food, feed, fibre, fuel
  efficiency improvements)
• direct and indirect LUC and their impacts on CC,
  biodiversity and food security (assessments and
  projections project level impacts burden of
  proof with the project developer macro level
  impacts mapping / planning)
• LCA for different crops and pathways (common
  impact indicators)
• technologies (impact assessments incl 2nd
  generation efficiency/cost N-S, S-N, S-S
  cooperation and technology transfer)
• cost (externalities co-benefits)

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Political context

• Biofuel targets (in some cases already linked to
  sustainability safeguards)
• Strong calls for ground rules G8 GBEP CBD
  UNFCCC UN SG Task Team on the Global Food Crisis
  CFA UN Energy

Standard setting processes

• RSB
• commodity-based initiatives
• national initiatives
• ISO

Risk management / Assessments

• IRGC
• UNEP Due Diligence Guidelines for the finance
  sector
• SCOPE RAP
• GEF targeted research project (UNEP, FAO, UNIDO)
  STAP
• UNEP Resource Panel
• FAO BFS and BIAS
• IEA Tasks
• Compete