World in transition: future bioenergy and sustainable land use - Summary for policy-makers

Oct 2008

The incipient global bioenergy boom is giving rise to vigorous and strongly polarized debate. Different underlying aims, such as reducing dependence on imported oil and gas or using biofuels to reduce the CO2 emissions of road traffic, predominate in different quarters and shape the political agenda. It has not as yet been possible to carry out an integrated assessment of the contribution bioenergy can make to sustainable development because of the dynamics and huge complexity of the issue, as well as the considerable scientific uncertainty and the multiplicity of interests involved. WBGU aims to show that the sustainable use of bioenergy is possible and outline how to exploit opportunities while at the same time minimizing risks.
To that end, WBGU presents an integrated vision that will provide policy-makers clear guidance for the deployment of bioenergy. In principle, WBGU sustains that bioenergy should play a strategic role in the global transformation of energy systems towards sustainability. This guiding vision is inspired by two objectives: 1) the use of bioenergy should contribute to mitigating climate change by replacing fossil fuels and thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the world energy system; 2) the use of bioenergy can help to overcome energy poverty.
WBGU’s central message in this report is that sustainable bioenergy be pursued globally, provided that risks to sustainability be minimized. In particular, it deems that the use of bioenergy must not endanger food security or the goals of nature conservation and climate protection.
WBGU considers bioenergy from an interdisciplinary, systemic and global perspective, and for this purpose it has created an analysis matrix. Building on that analysis, WBGU develops strategies showing how bioenergy can be deployed as part of sustainable energy systems in industrialized, newly industrializing and developing countries
Lastly, in this article WBGU proposes a global regulatory framework for a sustainable bioenergy policy in order to steer the use of bioenergy.

By: German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU)

 
download this document:   932 kb
home