GBEP Newsletter n.18 -6 July 2015

3rd GBEP Bioenergy Week: outcomes and news from the Indonesia event

The 3rd Bioenergy Week took place in Medan, Indonesia, from 25 to 29 May. Hosted by the Government of Indonesia in cooperation with the GBEP Secretariat and the support of the Governments of Brazil and Italy, as well as of the International Energy Agency, the Asian Development Bank and GIZ, the event gathered some 120 participants among scientists, government officials and private sector representatives. Sustainable production and use of bioenergy was at the centre of discussion, with a focus on specific themes of key interest to Asia and on positive experiences that could guide the design and implementation of bioenergy policies in the continent.

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Cooperation activities sprout out of the GBEP Bioenergy Weeks

The GBEP Activity Group 3 has among its main objectives that of fostering the exchange of skills and technologies concerning bioenergy production and use in a sustainable manner. The Group pursues this goal through bilateral and multilateral collaboration. The Bioenergy Weeks organized so far in Latin America, Africa and Asia produced some concrete collaboration among participants in the events, proving the effectiveness of these kind of events.

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Round up from GBEP’s work on wood and water: new events from Activity Group 4 and 6

Building on the report “Towards sustainable modern wood energy development” presented at last November's GBEP meetings, the Activity Group 4 organized a webinar on 24 June to discuss the GBEP role to address the findings and policy recommendations spelled out in the report. The Activity Group 6 “Bioenergy and Water”, established last November 2015, has recently carried out a call for positive examples and best practice experiences for bioenergy systems contributing to sustainable water management and will organize, next 25 and 26 August, a workshop in Stockholm (Sweden).

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GBEP Task Force on Sustainability re-opens to produce Implementation Guide of the Sustainability Indicators

Further to the 6th meeting of the GBEP Working Group on Capacity Building for Sustainable Bioenergy (WGCB) last November 2014, GBEP Activity Group 2 co-leaders drafted a proposal on the scope of work for the production of an Implementation Guide on the use of the GBEP Sustainability Indicators for Bioenergy (GSIs). The proposal was recently approved by the GBEP Partners and Observers and led to the re-opening of the Task Force on Sustainability under the chairmanship of Sweden.

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European Parliament approves new law to cap first generation biofuels

The European Parliament approved last April a draft law to cap food crop-derived biofuel consumption and accelerate the shift to alternative sources. Current legislation requires EU member states to ensure that renewable energy accounts for at least 10% of energy consumption in transport by 2020. The new law says that first-generation biofuels (from food crops grown on agricultural land) should account for no more than 7% of energy consumption in transport by 2020. The intent of the new law is to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by the growing use of farm land for biofuel crops (indirect land-use change, - ILUC).

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Global Bioenergy Perspectives: The Biomass Energy Sector Planning Guide

The Biomass Energy Sector Planning Guide, developed by the EU Energy Initiative  Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF) and GIZ’s Poverty-oriented Basic Energy Services (HERA), recognises the importance of effective biomass energy management and regulation and addresses the development of tailor-made biomass energy governance. Worldwide, an estimated 2.6 billion people depend on traditional biomass for cooking, of which 95% live in Sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia. Biomass fuel, especially in the rural areas, will remain in demand for cooking because of its affordability and availability, ahead of alternative and more expensive fuels, such as kerosene, LPG or electricity.

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GBEP agenda for the rest of 2015

A list of upcoming events organized by GBEP or which involve GBEP directly.

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