Position papers
From BioenergyWiki
Bioenergy > Publications > Position papers
This section is for papers and statements that are primarily advocating for a specific policy, approach or position regarding bioenergy. This includes statements by politicians, and United States Congressional Statements. Reports that examine or evaluate the current state or trends in bioenergy are in the reports section.
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Position Papers
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International
- Risk governance guidelines for bioenergy policies - This "Policy Brief" by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC), issued 1 October 2008, concluded that "bioenergy could contribute to three important global objectives: improving energy security, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and supporting sustainable rural development. However, bioenergy alone cannot achieve these objectives and IRGC has also concluded that a continuation of some current policies may, in fact, hinder progress towards meeting some or all of them in the long term. IRGC has identified several substantial deficits in the current governance of the opportunities and risks of bioenergy, and proposes a number of recommendations for improving the assessment and the management of major risks related to an unsustainable development of bioenergy, and in particular liquid biofuels."
- Fuelling the ecological crisis - six examples of habitat destruction driven by biofuels, by Birdlife International, May 2008. "The European Commission's biofuel policy laid out in the draft Renewable Energy Directive is fundamentally flawed."...BirdLife "presents a new report which shows six case studies of ecological damage that is being driven by commodity production that will be boosted by the proposed European policy."
- The Global Blueprint For A Biomass Economy by Almuth Ernsting; Biofuel Watch, January 2007. "Today’s bioenergy revolution is already destroying some of the planet’s vital climate sinks and threatens to greatly accelerate the pace of global warming."
- A Biofuels Manifesto: Why biofuels industry creation should be ‘Priority Number One’ for the World Bank and for developing countries (PDF), by John Mathews,Professor of Strategic Management at Macquarie University, Sydney Australia, September 2006.
- A Near Term Energy Solution (.doc download), Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures, 2006.
- Global Position Paper on Bioenergy, by WWF International, July 2008.
- From the summary: "WWF believes that bioenergy can provide diverse sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, additional incomes for rural communities and contribute to development. However, bioenergy development is not necessarily sustainable. Depending on which crops are produced, where and how, bioenergy developments can cause significant negative environmental and social impacts, such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, excessive water use, land use conflicts, food shortages and staple food crop price spikes."[1]
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Africa
- Position on the Use of Agrofuels in Africa (PDF file) from The Conservation, Policy, Education and Science Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology, Africa section. "The purpose of this position paper is to explore the means of sustaining both humans and wildlife while producing agro-fuels as an alternative energy source in sub-Saharan Africa."
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United States
- "A Call For A Strategic U.S. Approach To The Global Food Crisis - A Report of the CSIS Task Force on the Global Food Crisis" (PDF file), July 2008, by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Recommends revising "the U.S. approach to biofuels so that fuel and food security objectives are effectively de-conflicted".[2]
- Biofuels and the Bay: Getting it Right to Benefit Farms, Forests, and the ChesapeakeChesapeake Bay Commission, August 2007.
- 27 March 2007 Letter from US NGOs concerning legislation related to sustainably produced biofuels. Full text of letter and annex, Bioenergy Feedstock Guiding Principles.
- Making Cellulosic Ethanol Happen: Good and Not So Good Public Policy (pdf) by David Morris; Institute for Local Self-Reliance, January 2007.
- Transforming Rural America Local Ownership of Renewable Energy Production: The Key to Marrying Rural Prosperity and Energy Security by David Morris; the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 19 January 2007.
- Fueling a New Farm Economy Creating Incentives for Biofuels in Agriculture and Trade Policy by Jake Caldwell; Center for American Progress, 19 January 2007.
- Ethanol from Biomass: How to get to a Biofuels Future 2007 Recommendations - Governors' Ethanol Coalition, December 2006.
- Water Use by Ethanol Plants: Potential Challenges, The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, written by Dennis Keeney, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Mark Muller, Director, Environment and Agriculture Program, October 2006
- U.S. Corn Growers: Producing Food and Fuel - National Corn Growers Association, November 2006.
- Convergence of Energy and Agriculture: Implications for Research and Policy (PDF) CAST commentary chaired by Cassman, Kenneth of the University of Nebraska, November 2006. The paper seeks to identify the most critical research and policy issues that impact on the ability of the US to sustain a rapid expansion of biofuel production.
- Unlocking the Promise of Ethanol - NRDC, February 2006.
- Ethanol: Energy Well Spent - A Survey of Studies Published Since 1990 -NRDC and Climate Solutions, February 2006.
- Sustainable Biomass Crops for a Sustainable Future by the Building Sustainable Futures for Farmers Globally Coalition. A position paper for the 2007 US Farm Bill.
- A Roadmap for the Development of Biomass in California (Draft)(PDF) Developed by the California Biomass Collaborative working towards the State goals for renewable fuels, 2006.
- Ownership Matters: Three Steps to Ensure a Biofuels Industry That Truly Benefits Rural America (PDF file), David Morris, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), 2006.
- The New Harvest: Biofuels and Windpower for Rural Revitalization and National Energy Security (PDF) by The McKnight Foundation-Energy Foundation Upper Midwest Clean Energy Initiative, Mazza, Patrick, Research Director, November 2005.
- Bringing Biofuels to the Pump by Nathanael Greene and Yerina Mugica; NRDC, July 2005.
- GROWING ENERGY: How Biofuels Can Help End America’s Oil Dependence (pdf) by Nathanael Greene (principal author); National Resources Defence Council, December 2004.
- The New Petroleum Lugar, R.G. and R.J. Woolsey. 2002. The New Petroleum. p. 3–10. In: J. Janick and A. Whipkey (eds.), Trends in new crops and new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA. Paper on biofuels by US Senator Lugar and former CIA Director James Woolsey.
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United States Congressional Statements
- Senator Lugar Address at Purdue University Conference, 29 August 2006.
- Senator Lugar stated that "Far in the future, historians may point to the energy policy of the last several decades as the major national security failing of the American government in this era."
- In addition, he stated that the United States "should expand ethanol production to 100 billion gallons a year by 2025, a figure that could be achieved by doubling output every five years.
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European Union
- The EU Strategy on Biofuels:from field to fuel by the UK House of Lords European Union Committee. Evaluates the current state of the EU's Biofuels Directive and makes recommendations, 20 November 2006.
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Brazil
- Energy Revolution in Brazil: Biofuels for Sustainable Development (PDF file), Esther Neuhaus, FBOMS – Brazilian Network of NGOs and Social Movements for the Environment and Development (FBOMS), May 2006.
- Sustainability Criteria and Indicators for Bioenergy (PDF file), Artur Moret, Délcio Rodrigues and Lúcia Ortiz with the contribution of discussions held at the Energy Working Group of the Brazilian Forum of NGOs and Social Movements for the Environment and Development (FBOMS), February 2006.
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