Sustainability
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Bioenergy > Issues > Sustainability
Note: Also see the BioenergyWiki page Sustainability standards.
Contents |
What is sustainability?
- Sustainability refers to the capability of complex systems to maintain themselves over time.
- When used in the context of human activity, sustainability usually has three aspects: social, economic and environmental.
- All three aspects must be met if something is to be considered truly sustainable.
- Anything which protects the environment by driving people into poverty, or something that supports the economy while undermining environmental services, will inevitably collapse, often with devastating consequences for people today and future generations.
- While nothing can be sustained forever, ecosystems, including those with humans, have maintained themselves for tens of thousands of years.
Sustainability and bioenergy
There are a variety of sustainability issues that concern the production and use of biofuels. Below is a list of some of these issues with links to related pages.
- Economic - Economics
- Energy and climate change - Climate change, Greenhouse gases, Miles per acre, Net energy debate
- Environmental - Biodiversity, Environmental issues, Erosion, Forests, Invasive species, Land use, Life-cycle analysis, Prairie grasses, Soil, Water, Intensification of agriculture
- Social - Bioenergy in rural development, Food-versus-fuel debate, Indigenous peoples, Poverty issues
- Technological - Algae, Fuel traceability, Genetically Modified Organisms, Second-generation biofuels
To ensure that the use of biofuels is sustainable, a variety of sustainability standards are being developed by groups such as Better Sugarcane Initiative, Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. For a more extensive list see the Sustainability standards page.
Measuring and Monitoring
Events
Note: Also see events listed on the BioenergyWiki page Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels.
- Date to be determined, 2012: Rio de Janiero, Brazil: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) - The "Rio+20" Conference. (Themes: green economy, international cooperation, sustainable development). Areas of focus are planned to include:
- Review of Commitments
- Emerging Issues
- Green Economy in the context of Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development
- Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development
- 24-26 February 2010, Delft, The Netherlands: European Convention of the Global Sustainable Bioenergy Project. Organized by the Global Sustainable Bioenergy Project. (Themes: bioenergy, sustainability)
- "This is the first of a series of 5 conventions aiming to provide guidance on the feasibility of sustainable bioenergy production on a large scale as well as implementation paths and policies that foster this outcome."[1]
- 15-16 March 2010, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: BioPower Generation. Co-located with World Biofuels Markets event. (Themes: biomass, biopower, sustainability, technologies, wood-based biomass production)
- 15-17 March 2010, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: World Biofuels Markets. (Themes: aviation, biodiesel, ethanol, feedstocks, ILUC, next-generation feedstocks, standards, sustainability)
- Includes a "Sustainable Biofuels Awards" evening.
- 30-31 March 2010, Alexandria, Virginia (Washington, D.C. area), USA: Biomass 2010. Annual Department of Energy conference. (Themes: biomass, bioproducts, biorefineries, green economy, infrastructure, research, rural development, sustainability)
- 6-11 April 2010, Geneva, Switzerland: 30th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment. (Themes: agriculture, policy, standards, sustainability, transport)
- 21 April 2010, Wellington, New Zealand: EECA Biofuels and Electric Vehicles Conference 2010. (Themes: markets, sustainability)
- 27-28 April 2010, Manchester, New Hampshire: 2nd Annual Heating the Northeast with Renewable Biomass. (Themes: biomass, greenhouse gas emissions, biomass pellets, policies, rural economies, sustainability, technologies)
- 3-6 May 2010, Chicago, IL, USA: Bio 2010. (Themes: policy, sustainability, technology)
- 3-7 May 2010, Lyon, France: 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition. (Themes: biomass, policies, second generation biofuels, sustainability)
- 5 May 2010, Lyon France: Biomass Industry Forum at the 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition. (Themes: biomass, technology, second generation biofuels, gasification, Co-firing)
- 13-14 May 2010, London, UK: Forestry, Biomass and Sustainability. (Themes: biofuels, biomass, carbon offset, forestry, REDD, sustainability)
- 19-20 May 2010, Seville, Spain: World Biofuels 2010. (Themes: biodiesel, ethanol, ILUC, markets, policy, sustainability)
- 26-28 May 2010, Haifa, Israel: Globalization in the Amazon 2010 International Symposium. (Themes: Amazon, indigenous peoples, sustainability, water power, forest, biofuels, wood, biomass, alternative energy, policy)
- 30 May - 3 June 2010, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Michelin Challenge Bibendum Rio 2010 - The "world’s premier event in support of sustainable road mobility where industry, policymakers, academia and the media can review the latest technologies, debate policies and share their visions." (Themes: automobiles, greenhouse gases, sustainability, transport)
- 1-3 June 2010, Helsinki, Finland: PulPaper2010 Conference - Implementing the New Rise. (Conference themes: bioenergy, forestry, sustainability, technology)
- 29 June - 1 July 2010, Arlington, Virginia (Washington, D.C. area) USA: The Sixth National 25x'25 Summit. (Themes: 25 x 25 Alliance, agriculture, biomass, forestry, national security, policy, sustainability)
- 30 June - 1 July 2010, Brussels, Belgium: 2010 AEBIOM European Biomass Conference and RENEXPO. (Themes: bioenergy, markets, policy, sustainability, energy crops, wood residues, MSW and more)
- 3-7 July 2010, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: 24th International Congress for Conservation Biology. Conference Theme: "Conservation for a Changing Planet". Organized by the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB). (Themes: conservation, environment, species, sustainable development)
- 16 August 2010, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil: From Crude Oil to Biofuels - Trends Impacting Global Fuels. (Themes: ethanol, jet fuel, markets, sustainability, transport)
- 27-28 September 2010, Brussels, Belgium: The Future of Biodiesel in Europe. (Themes: Europe, feedstocks, RED, sustainability)
- 28-29 September 2010, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Biofuels International Expo & Conference. (Themes: feedstocks, markets, second generation, sustainability)
- 8-11 November 2010, Jakarata, Indonesia: 8th Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil meeting. (Themes: palm oil, RSPO, sustainability)
- 31 January - 1 February 2009, San Francisco, California, USA: 6th Annual Sustainable Biodiesel Summit 2009. (Themes: biodiesel, sustainability)
- 23-24 February 2009, London, UK: Sustainable Bioenergy 2009 - New trends in biomass, biogas and biofuels. (Themes: European Union, sustainability, 2nd generation biofuels)
- 28-29 April 2009, Singapore: Bioenergy Forum 2009. (Themes: sustainability, policy, 2nd generation biofuels)
- 5 June 2009, Bonn, Germany: Agriculture, land and climate change: side-event at the UNFCCC meeting Participants include representatives from FAO and ICRAF. (Themes: Climate change, land use change, agriculture, Europe, sustainable).
- 28-30 September 2009, São Paolo, Brazil: Regional Workshop on Ways and Means to Promote the Sustainable Production and Use of Biofuels. Organized by the Convention on Biological Diversity. (Themes: biofuels, Latin America, sustainability)
- 20-22 October 2009, Lisbon, Portugal: Europabio's European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology 2009- (Themes: biofuels, biotechnologies, sustainability).
Publications
See books, reports, scientific papers, position papers and websites for additional useful resources.
- Growing a Green Energy Future: A Primer and Vision for Sustainable Biomass Energy (PDF) by Loni Kemp and Julie M. Sibbing at the National Wildlife Federation, March 2010. This reports looks at policies for developing a sustainable biomass energy future and addresses some of the failures of first generation biofuels and the possibilities for success with second generation biofuels.[2]
- Future Bioenergy and Sustainable Land Use (PDF) by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), 2009. "WBGU’s central message is that use should be made of the global sustainable potential of bioenergy, provided that risks to sustainability can be excluded. In particular, the use of bioenergy must not endanger food security or the goals of nature conservation and climate protection." A summary for policy-makers (PDF) is also available.
- Forest Footprint Disclosure "The Forest Footprint Disclosure Project (FFD Project) is a new UK government-supported initiative, created to help investors identify how an organisation’s activities and supply chains contribute to deforestation, and link this 'forest footprint' to their value."
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