| GBEP workshop maps potential to collaborate on delicate topic of indirect land use change
Indirect land use change (iLUC) has emerged as a contentious topic within bioenergy because of the implications it may have for sustainability and the net effect biofuels have on greenhouse gas emissions, food security and biodiversity.
Indirect land use change refers to the potential indirect effects which may be caused by cultivating biomass for bioenergy, biofuels or biomaterials on land previously used for other crops, that will subsequently displace the former use into another region within or outside the country of concern. The indirect effects are difficult to monitor, partly because they can take place at a global level.
The GBEP Task Force on Sustainability has identified “land use change, including indirect effects” among its draft sustainability criteria and asked a subgroup on environmental aspects to lead work on indirect effects of bioenergy production. To help start this work and assess progress made so far on this delicate topic, GBEP organised a workshop on May 15 in New York (“Status of and Perspectives on Science-Based Policies”). The proceedings were split into a session on science and one on policy and concluded by a panel discussion among GBEP partners.
The four presentations in the first session were made by Uwe Fritsche from Oeko-Institut, who reported on the iLUC discussion within IEA Bioenergy and the results of recent workshops; Karen Laughlin of the US Environmental Protection Agency, who summarised the results of the iLUC analysis co-ordinated by the EPA for the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS); Bart Dehue, biofuels project manager at Ecofys, who presented several iLUC approaches in Europe; and Thelma Krug from Brazil’s Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espacias (INPE), who described iLUC approaches and issues in her country.
The chair of the session, Reinhard Kaiser, from the German Ministry of the Environment, underlined that there is a time gap between policymaking and science, with the latter trying to catch up. It is good news that science is supported in this by various governments, but developing country perspectives need better reflection and inclusion, he said.
As regards policy, Michael O’Hare from the University of California, Berkeley, presented the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS); Györgi Gurban, from the EU Commission’s DG Environment, outlined the EC’s work on the subject; and Karen Laughlin described the policy development around the US RFS.
GBEP partners agreed during a concluding panel discussion that the partnership can play a key role in stimulating debate and information sharing among developed and developing countries, thereby forming an important driver for a common international view and response on iLUC. GBEP’s role could include: helping with data collection and sharing helping with stocktaking, including on existing policies providing a forum to discuss methodologies supporting monitoring activities engaging in pilot projects to help build capacity.
Presentations from the event are available on the GBEP website here.
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