UN-Energy creates tool to support development of bioenergy policies


Decision makers in government are faced with complex choices, having to settle for trade-offs between often conflicting goals.

Decisions about bioenergy occur at two distinct levels: the national level in the definition of a bioenergy strategy,
and the specific project or investment level in an approval or licensing process. Ideally, a government has a clear strategy in place before making decisions on major investments such as those involving the bioenergy sector. In practice, decisions may have to be made without the guidance of an established strategy, or while the strategy is being formulated.

To respond to this situation, UN-Energy has developed a Bioenergy Decision Support Tool (DST) providing step-based guidance for both the strategy formulation and the investment decision-making processes. The underlying concept of the DST is that identification and mitigation of risks and a longer-term perspective of sustainable use of resources are key to maximising the potential benefits from bioenergy and that putting into place clear frameworks helps create a more sustainable bioenergy sector, stable investment climates, and ultimately helps to achieve the goal of energy access from sustainable and low-carbon sources.

Since there is no single entity in the UN system that has primary responsibility for energy, UN-Energy was established to help ensure coherence in the UN system’s multi-disciplinary response to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and to ensure the effective engagement of non-UN stakeholders in implementing WSSD energy-related decisions. The DST was prepared by the UN-Energy Renewables Cluster, co-led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and complements an earlier UN-Energy publication: “Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers (2007)”, which outlines the key sustainability challenges and development opportunities for bioenergy in developing countries.

While recognising that each country’s situation is different, the DST tool provides
• step-by-step guidance on the key issues that need to be addressed when considering tradeoffs, and processes that need to be undertaken to optimize opportunities and minimize risks;
• a set of technical resources and links to existing tools, guidelines, information and resources that are relevant to each country’s critical risks and challenges;
• guidance on identification and inclusion of stakeholders in the bioenergy decision-making process and on adopting transparent processes for good governance.

The tool sketches out typical steps that can serve as a basis for adaptation to specific country contexts. Because facilitating a bioenergy strategy is dynamic and constantly evolving, with new tools being developed to help guide processes and decisions, the DST by nature is also dynamic. The tool is therefore a work in progress as these new ideas, learned lessons and tools are made available.

The Decision Support Tool (DST) will be available through an interactive website by the first half of 2011. An overview of the tool is available here.

For further information please contact:
UNEP: Ms. Martina Otto, Head of Policy Unit - Energy Branch: martina.otto[at]unep.org
FAO: Mr. Olivier Dubois, Bioenergy Group Coordinator: olivier.dubois[at]fao.org

Back to menu of articles

Leggi le notizie in italiano