São Paulo – A global initiative has started defining indices and criteria for the development of the biofuel sector worldwide. Representatives of the G8, the group that includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, together with some developing nations, like Brazil and Sudan, have met in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, to establish criteria for sustainability that may become a reference in public policies in the area of bioenergy. The meeting began on Wednesday (5th) and ends tomorrow.
The meeting is promoted by the technical group of the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP), an initiative of the G8. Brazil is represented by the Sugarcane and Agribusiness director at the Ministry of Agriculture, Alexandre Strapasson. According to him, the talks progressed significantly in Tunis, but the list of indices should not be concluded. This is not the first meeting on the matter – the last took place in the Netherlands – and the site and date for another meeting should be chosen by the end of this edition.
But among the items already included in the list of sustainability indices for biofuels are, according to the Ministry, methodologies for evaluation of the emission of greenhouse gas by biofuels when compared to fossil fuels, indices for the improvement of working conditions in the area, measures for environmental improvement and indices for economic benefits, including the impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), regional development and expansion of the population’s income in the country.
The great lines for discussion about sustainability, according to Strapasson, are environmental, social and economic indices. The Brazilian recalls, however, that the GBEP is not mandatory. That is, the adoption of the criteria established is not compulsory, and depends on each nation. "It is a global partnership for bioenergy,” said Strapasson, regarding the GBEP. The objective of the initiative is to contribute to the formation of an international positive agenda in bioenergy.
Brazil, according to the Ministry representative at the event in Tunis, is a reference in bioenergy, as is the United States. The country has vast experience in the cultivation of sugarcane, as well as production and trade of ethanol on a large scale and the meeting was an opportunity to show the sustainability work in these areas, according to Strapasson. To him, expectations are for the list of indices and criteria to be closed by the end of the year.
At the meeting, the structure of another work group in bioenergy was also defined, to operate in the areas of training, financing and technology transfer. The establishment of this task force took place at the last edition of the GBEP.
Tunisia was chosen to host it, despite not being a member of the GBEP, as it is an African country. The organisation wanted to privilege the continent. The group has 29 members, among them Brazil, as well as 30 observers, where Tunisia is found. In the Arab world, just Sudan is an effective member of the GBEP. There are other Arab observers.
*Translated by Mark Ament
