GBEP Annual Round-up 2022
GBEP’s annual meeting provided a platform for Partners and Observers, as well as invited experts, to join the Task Force on Sustainability (TFS) and the Working Group on Capacity Building (WGCB) in meetings, presentations and panels, to discuss past work and future priorities of the Global Bioenergy Partnership.
Between 21-22 November, the 14th meeting of the Working Group on Capacity Building for Sustainable Bioenergy (WGCB) as well as the 20th meeting of the GBEP Task Force on Sustainability (TFS) and 27th of the Steering Committee took place online. Experts, Partners and Observers joined the sessions illustrating the work performed during the year and laying out the path for future activities. This year’s GBEP Steering Committee meeting took place on 22 November 2022 and was co-chaired by Amb Alex Giacomelli from Brazil. Progress reports from WGCB and TFS were presented, and funding arrangements for GBEP’s near future discussed. Finally, the meeting hosted a discussion and endorsement of the way forward with a view to allow GBEP to continue being a reference initiative at the global level on the sustainable development of bioenergy.
Activities and events in 2022
Under the Working Group on Capacity Building, the 9th Bioenergy Week was successfully held in Asunción, Paraguay, 26-29 September, 2022. Organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Paraguay and FAO Paraguay, supported by MERCOSUR and IICA and financially by the U.S. Grains Council, the event connected more than 100 participants in person and 60 online, daily. Once more, the Bioenergy Week represented an important opportunity to develop the discussion around bioenergy and its regional, national and global potentials, as well as to exchange practical examples, experiences and opportunities of bioenergy implementation. The three full day conference was followed by a field visit at the INPASA biofuels plant in Guayaibi.

Participants at the 9th GBEP Bioenergy Week

Participants at the field visit
Additional activities under the Working Group on Capacity Building spanned the thematic areas of GBEP’s Sustainability Indicators, capacity building and training, woody biomass for forest landscape restoration, biogas, advanced liquid biofuels, youth, and the links between bioenergy and food and nutrition security. Many interesting webinars were held on these topics, such as green jobs in biogas, the linkages between bioenergy and nutrition, the role of biohydrogen, and responsible sourcing in advanced liquid biofuels supply chains; more information as well as the recordings are available to access here.
The Task Force on Sustainability performed several tasks distributed over two workstreams: the GBEP Indicators (GSIs); and bioenergy in the context of the broader bioeconomy. Activities involved the development of project proposals incorporating GBEP’s Sustainability Indicators, the piloting of the Rapid Implementation Framework and the development of Data Entry Sheets for several bioenergy pathways. GBEP’s TFS participated in the preparation of two technical papers linking bioenergy and the Sustainability Indicators to the bioeconomy, and started developing an infographic on the bioeconomy designed for the general public. Furthermore, this year’s TFS meeting hosted a webinar on strategies and public policies around bioeconomy and bioenergy in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Argentina, spanning regional and national contexts.
Other events organized by GBEP in 2022 included an e-workshop, co-organized with IEA Bioenergy and the Biofuture Platform, on “Bioenergy and Sustainable Development - Climate Change Mitigation and Opportunities for Sustainability Co-Benefits“; and a special event at the World Forestry Congress 2022 on sustainable bioenergy for energy transition towards net zero emissions, in collaboration with FAO and IRENA.
A full overview of GBEP’s work can be found on the website.


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