Recent trends in the law and policy of bioenergy production, promotion and use

Sep 2007

This paper aims to stimulate discussion on the elements of appropriate national legal frameworks for bioenergy, particularly in developing countries. It provides legislators and policy-makers with a tool to assist in identifying areas of law which may affect bioenergy regulation, and in designing key elements of national bioenergy laws.
Part I of the paper provides an overview of bioenergy in the international regulatory context, including binding international agreements and non-binding principles for sustainable development. It then highlights the main features of existing national bioenergy laws and reviews the legal issues to be considered when developing national legal frameworks for bioenergy. This information should assist countries in assessing their national legal frameworks for bioenergy and in developing specific national bioenergy legislation and policies.
Part II of the paper examines the main features of existing bioenergy legislation and policies in a number of developing countries. The countries examined in the study were selected after a survey carried out by the Development Law Service of the FAO Legal Office. The survey on national legislation and policies on bioenergy in emerging biofuels markets was circulated among FAO country representatives around the world and yielded results mostly from Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. The legislation collected has subsequently been included in FAOLEX, an online database providing public access to national legislation and international agreements affecting food and agriculture, faolex.fao.org/faolex/ index.htm.
Part III contains a brief conclusion, while Appendix I contains a graphic representation of the main elements of national legal frameworks on bioenergy in the countries examined in the study.

By: C. Jull, P. Carmona Redondo, V. Mosoti, J. Vapnek (FAO Legal Papers Online)

 
download this document:   501 kb
home