GBEP hosting bioenergy side event at UNFCCC Conference in Bali

The UN Climate Change Conference provides a key forum to present the work of GBEP in promoting the sustainable development of bioenergy and to stimulate a better understanding of how bioenergy can contribute to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Alexander Müller, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Natural Resources Management and Environment Department will give an overview of the current state of bioenergy policies and will present the GBEP recent Report “A Review of the Current State of Bioenergy Development in G8 +5 Countries”. Harlan Watson, Senior Climate Negotiator & Special Representative of the US Department of State, is scheduled to give an overview of the work of the GBEP Task Force that is working on a harmonized methodology for estimating the greenhouse-gas impact of the use of biofuels for transportation.

The GBEP’s mandate received from the G8 Gleneagles Plan of Action in 2005 gave particular emphasis to its role in developing countries, because the use of biomass is more widespread there and because of the potential benefits on offer from modern bioenergy technologies. In this respect, China will provide a perspective on its developments.

Simonetta Zarrilli, legal officer from the Division on International Trade and Commodities at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), will talk about the current situation of the biofuels market and alternative scenarios. She will be followed by Debra Justus, senior energy analyst, Energy Technology Policy Office at the International Energy Agency (IEA), who will present an overview of current industry and RD&D activities in moving from first- to second-generation biofuel technologies.

Mark Radka, chief of the Energy Branch at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will be on hand to draw the conclusions from the discussion.

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