Plenary Session 3: Round Table – Building confidence and creating synergies within the bioeconomy

Wednesday 23 October 2024, 10.30-12.00 BRT

Video recordings of the session

Moderators: Lais de Souza Garcia (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil) and Jim Spaeth (US Department of Energy, USA)

Introductory statements of the panelists:

Highlights of the session:

For bioeconomy to advance in an inclusive and sustainable way, we need to have agreement among government and civil society stakeholders on clear and interoperable rules to assess sustainability. This was a key conclusion from the second panel held on 23 October at the BBEST & IEA Bioenergy Conference.

Highlights of the session:

For bioeconomy to advance in an inclusive and sustainable way, we need to have agreement among government and civil society stakeholders on clear and interoperable rules to assess sustainability. This was a key conclusion from the second panel held on 23 October at the BBEST & IEA Bioenergy Conference.

Panel (L-to-R): Jim Spaeth, Joao Vicente, Patricia Audi, Andre Valente, Keith Kline, Lais de Souza Garcia.

“We are seeing an increased interest in sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials, and in the role of the bioeconomy in an overall transition to a low carbon economy. The aim is not only to reduce emissions, but also to stimulate development, so all countries can have a shot in this new decarbonized world. We are happy that the G20 for the first time created a group to discuss the bioeconomy as a whole. In the Energy Transitions working group we try to discuss sustainable fuels from a developing country perspective”, commented the panel moderator, Lais de Souza Garcia, head of the Renewable Energy Division of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE).

Different jurisdictions are establishing different criteria for evaluating or determining sustainability, but these are not always interoperable with each other, particularly related to the carbon intensity of products. This creates uncertainties that make investments and free trade difficult. The Brazilian biofuels policy RenovaBio supports the production of biofuels in the country, including ethanol, biomethane and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Europe has other regulations and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are both creating a multilateral forum with sustainability criteria for SAF and the maritime sector (biobunker).

“We are dealing with different sustainability criteria and each market is creating its own. This fragmentation makes it difficult to scale these fuels”, stated the moderator. Scaling the market means having enough production capacity to replace fossil fuels with more sustainable fuels.

Consensus

The panelists agreed that sustainability is supported by building capacities that ensure continuous improvements and adaptations to changing conditions. Patricia Audi mentioned that Brazil has tropical agriculture, which can produce three crops annually on the same land, different from production in European countries with a temperate climate. In her opinion, there is no single path to decarbonization. “We are experiencing a climate emergency and today we have to rely on all possible technological paths to decarbonization.” She highlighted that biofuels are a critical part of the solution for the energy transition in the world.

Another consensus among the panelists was that, in addition to interoperable and transparent rules, they need to be based on scientific evidence.  “The more organizations involved, the more difficult it is to reach a consensus. Hence the need to confront different points of view with scientific evidence”, stated the sustainability director at Raízen. Keith Kline added: “We can’t expect all emerging economies to measure everything or to meet a common threshold today. To be inclusive, we need to acknowledge distinctions among starting conditions and available resources. That is why it is essential to provide incentives for all parties to improve, based on scientific research to understand current conditions and trajectories, identify realistic opportunities for change, and implement pathways that lead to desired future conditions. Indicators of sustainability need to be developed with local stakeholders and reflect measures that are meaningful to them, based on what is most important in their context.”

João Vicente of Braskem also reinforced the importance of science for advancing the bioeconomy. “The regulatory framework is important, but in deciding which route to take, these decisions need to be based on science and not on emotions or beliefs.” He highlighted that since 2010 Braskem has been investing in the new market and produced the first green plastic on an industrial scale. He also called for a harmonization of public policies, which are currently targeted at transport biofuels, to diverse uses of biomass, including biobased products.

Amidst many questions, whose answers are still being sought by experts, there is one certainty, said Keith Kline: “We have to deliver a better world for future generations”, he stated. He praised the inclusion of the sustainable bioeconomy topic in the G20, which brings together representatives of the world’s largest economies and referenced a set of recommendations for the G20 developed by stakeholders to advance more consistent and verifiable GHG emission accounting [1]. He also referred to two reports recently produced by the International Energy Agency in support of Brazil’s G20 presidency: ‘Carbon accounting for sustainable fuels’ [2] and ‘Towards common criteria for sustainable fuels’ [3].

IEA recommendations on carbon accounting

Improvements in the consistency and comparability of GHG and carbon accounting methods can be furthered with G20 support for common guidelines such as:

  1. Apply Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) with input data and methods that are transparent, evidence-based, and verifiable.
  2. Apply consistent system boundaries.
  3. Apply available international standards for: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon footprint; Biofuel sustainability; Use “best available data” that are representative
    of the system being assessed.
  4. International collaborations persistently improve the transparency and consistency of LCA methods, including allocation, carbon removals, and carbon credits.
  5. Quantitative indirect land-use change (ILUC) values cannot be directly measured or scientifically verified.
  6. Quantitative ILUC factors shall be avoided in GHG accounting as they have not proven to provide consistent results across models or to support effective actions for reducing LUC emissions.
  7. Action is urgently needed to unlock innovation, investment and sustainable bioenergy production using robust, credible, and effective mechanisms.
  8. Performance-based mechanisms should rely on verifiable metrics that are technology-neutral and feedstock-agnostic.
  9. The G20 can show leadership by promoting consistent political guidance for GHG accounting and to identify and share alternatives such as the ILUC risk-based approach, or direct measurements, that are more effective and broadly applicable for global implementation.

 


[1] Workshop report and recommendations: https://biofutureplatform.org/news/carbon-accounting-of-biofuels/
[2] https://www.iea.org/reports/carbon-accounting-for-sustainable-biofuels
[3] https://www.iea.org/reports/towards-common-criteria-for-sustainable-fuels