São Paulo – A global initiative is beginning to set indicators and criteria in order to develop the biofuels sector worldwide. Representatives of the G8, a group comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with some developing countries, such as Brazil and Sudan, are now meeting in Tunis, Tunisian capital, to set the criteria of sustainability that will serve as a reference for bioenergy-oriented public policies. The meeting began on Wednesday (5th) and continues until tomorrow.
Brazil is represented at the meeting of the technical working group of the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP), an initiative of the G8, by the Sugarcane and Agroenergy director of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Alexandre Strapasson. According to him, the discussion has progressed lot in Tunis, but the list of indicators will not yet be concluded. This is not the first meeting on the matter – the last one was held in the Netherlands – and by the end of the meeting, the place and date for another meeting should be defined.
Items that have been already included on the list of sustainability indicators for biofuels, according to the director of the Ministry of Agriculture, include methodologies for assessing greenhouse gas emissions for biofuels compared with fossil fuels, indicators for improving working conditions in the field, environmental improvements, and indicators of economic benefits, such as impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), regional development, and population income.
The main topics of the debate on sustainability, according to Strapasson, are environmental, social, and economic indicators. Strapasson claims, however, that the GBEP’s decisions are not mandatory. In other words, adoption of the criteria set is not obligatory, it depends on each country. "This is a global partnership for bioenergy," says Strapasson, regarding the GBEP. The aim of the initiative is to contribute to the creation of a positive international agenda for bioenergy.
Brazil, according to the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture in Tunis, is a reference in bioenergy, as is the United States. The country has vast experience in sugarcane farming, as well as in large-scale ethanol production and sales. The meeting was an opportunity to showcase sustainability-oriented work in those fields, according to Strapasson. According to him, the list of indicators and criteria is expected to be concluded by the end of this year.
During the meeting, the structure was defined for another bioenergy workgroup, which will operate in the fields of training, financing and technology transfer. The proposal for the establishment of this taskforce was made at the last GBEP meeting.
Tunisia was selected as the host country, even though it is not a GBEP member country, because it is an African nation. The organization wanted to highlight the continent. The group comprises 29 members, among them Brazil, plus 30 observes, including Tunisia. In the Arab world, only Sudan is an actual member of the GBEP. Observers include other Arab countries.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
