Reports

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This page links and lists reports dealing with all aspects of bioenergy, arranged on a geographical basis. Papers whose primary purpose is to advocate a specific policy or approach are in Position papers.

Contents 1 International 1.1 Agriculture 1.2 Climate change 1.3 Development 1.4 Trade 1.5 Sustainability 1.5.1 Environmental impacts 1.5.2 Sustainability standards 2 North America 2.1 United States 2.1.1 Algae 2.1.2 Renewable energy 2.1.3 Biofuels 2.1.4 Biodiesel 2.1.5 Biomass 2.1.6 Char 2.1.7 Ethanol 2.1.7.1 Cellulosic ethanol 2.1.7.2 Corn ethanol 2.1.8 Global warming 2.1.9 Policy 3 Asia 3.1 China 3.2 India 3.3 Indonesia 3.4 Sri Lanka 3.5 Thailand 4 Latin America and the Caribbean 4.1 Brazil 4.2 Costa Rica 4.3 Guyana 5 Africa 5.1 South Africa 5.2 Tanzania 6 Europe 6.1 Biofuels 6.2 Biogas 6.3 Bioheat 6.4 Biomass 6.5 Climate Change 6.6 Policy 6.7 Sustainability 6.8 Transport 6.9 Greece 7 Oceania & Pacific

International

Reports by the United Nations or dealing with international issues (newest first):

• Risk governance guidelines for bioenergy policies - This International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) Policy Brief 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. October 2008.

• Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers (pdf) - UN-Energy. An overview of the benefits and risks of bioenergy and what policy makers have to do to ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability. April 2007.

• Energy R-evolution A SUSTAINABLE WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK: Global report - European Renewable Energy Council and Greenpeace; January 2007.

• Renewables 2006: Global Status Report Update (PDF) by Eric Martinot (lead author); prepared for REN21 by Worldwatch Institute, 2006.

• ‎Biofuels for Transportation: Global Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century,(PDF)Worldwatch Institute, June 2006.

• Energy in the United Nations: An Overview of UN-Energy Activities (PDF file) - UN-Energy, April 2006.

• Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade: Securing Supply and Demand - Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade (Task 40), IEA Bioenergy March 2006.

• The Emerging Biofuels Market: Regulatory, Trade and Development Implications prepared by Simonetta Zarrilli; UNCTAD, 2006.

• Introducing the International Bioenergy Platform (IBEP) (PDF file) - FAO, 2006.

• Renewables 2005: Global Status Report (PDF) by Eric Martinot (lead author); prepared for REN21 by Worldwatch Institute, 2005.

• Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) - White Paper (PDF file) - Italian Ministry for the Environment, Territory and Sea, October 2005.

• Bioenergy - UN FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization), April 2005.

• Bio im Tank: Chancen - Risiken - Nebenwirkungen Global Issue Paper No 20, Heinrich Boell Foundation, 2005 (German)

• Biofuels for Transport- An International Perspective - IEA, 11 May 2004.

Agriculture

• Towards better practice in smallholder palm oil production (pdf) by Sonja Vermeulen and Nathalie Goad, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), July 2006.

Climate change

• Climate mitigation through Biofuels in the Transport Sector (pdf) by Markus Quirin, Sven Gartner, Martin Pehnt, Guido A. Reinhardt; IFEU, August 2004.

Development

• Another Inconvenient Truth: How biofuel policies are deepening poverty and accelerating climate change by Oxfam International, 25 June 2008. This report argues that biofuels may not be a solution either for climate change or the oil crisis, and instead are actually creating a new crisis by driving up food prices and thereby dragging 30 million people into poverty.

• Challenges and opportunities for developing countries in producing biofuels - UNCTAD, November 2006.

• The Jatropha Energy System: An Integrated Approach To Decentralized And Sustainable Energy Production At The Village Level by Laurens Rademakers and Giovanni Venturini Del Greco, ISF Firenze.

• Reducing Rural Poverty through Increased Access to Energy Services: A Review of the Multifunctional Platform Project in Mali by Abeeku Brew-Hammond and Anna Crole-Rees; UNDP, 2004.

Trade

• International Bioenergy Trade - scenario study on international biomass markets in 2020 (.pdf), Jussi Heinimö, Virpi Pakarinen, Ville Ojanen and Tuomo Kässi; Lappeenranta University of Technology, Research Report 181, prepared for the IEA Bioenergy Task 40, 2007.
• Biofuels production, trade and sustainable development: emerging issues by Anne Dufey, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), November 2006.
• International trade in biofuels: Good for development? And good for environment? by Anne Dufey, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), January 2007.
• WTO Disciplines and Biofuels: Opportunities and Constraints in the Creation of a Global Marketplace(PDF) - International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council, October 2006.
• Biofuels – Advantages and Trade Barriers prepared by Coelho, Suani Teixeira, UNCTAD, February 2005.

Sustainability

Environmental impacts

• Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Products: Environmental Assessment of Biofuels - Executive Summary by Rainer Zah, Heinz Böni, Marcel Gauch, Roland Hischier, Martin Lehmann & Patrick Wäger (translated by Thomas Ruddy); EMPA, Switzerland, 22 May 2007. The report examines the result of life-cycle analysis of both the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts for a range of biofuels, including ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, and biogas, made from a range feedstocks. The report suggests that there may be trade-offs between greenhouse gas benefits and environmental impacts, mainly due to the effects of intensified agriculture.

• Biofuel crops and the use of non-native species: Mitigating the risks of invasion, May 2008 by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP). Addresses the impacts of biofuel crop selection on the potential spread of invasive species, and offers recommendations for crop assessment and selection.

Sustainability standards

• Evaluating biofuel opportunities from a landscape perspective. "This brief describes three systems for biofuel production and identifies opportunities and risks for biodiversity conservation, rural livelihoods and farm production. How can we manage landscapes to produce greener biofuels that are better for the environment and the people? The brief discusses six landscape design principles and four areas for policy development." from Ecoagriculture Partners, May 2008.
• The Challenge of Sustainable Bioenergy: Balancing climate protection, biodiversity and development policy - A Discussion Paper by Gerald Knauf, Jürgen Maier (German NGO Forum Environment & Development), Nikki Skuce (OneSky - Canada) and Annie Sugrue (CURES Southern Africa). This discussion paper looks at the challenges of sustainable bioenergy and makes suggestions for sustainable development including a focus on the use of biomass for heat and power, biogas as a transportation fuel as opposed to liquid biofuels.
• Overview of recent developments in sustainable biomass certification (draft)(pdf) by Jinke van Dam, Martin Junginger, André Faaij, Ingmar Jürgens, Gustavo Best, Uwe Fritsche; IEA Bioenergy Task 40, December 2006.
• Sustainability Standards for Bioenergy by Uwe R. Fritsche, Katja Hünecke, Andreas Hermann, Falk Schulze, Kirsten Wiegmann with contributions from Michel Adolphe; WWF Germany, Öko-Institut, November 2006.
• Criteria for Sustainable Biomass Production (PDF file) - Final report of the project group Sustainable production of biomass, Interdepartmental Programme Management Energy Transition, Netherlands, 14 July 2006.
• Draft Environmental Standards for Biofuels (pdf) by The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management, IIED, ADAS, Imperial College; LowCVP, 18 July 2006.
• Feasibility Study on certification for a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation by E4Tech, ECCM, and Imperial College London, UK, June 2005. This study addresses whether and how greenhouse gas and environmental standards and social standards should be linked to a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.
• The impact of sustainability criteria on the costs and potentials of bioenergy production (pdf) by Edward Smeets, André Faaij and Iris Lewandowski; Copernicus Institute, part of the FAIR Biotrade project funded by the Dutch electricity company Essent N.V. and NOVEM (Netherlands Organisation for Energy and the Environment), May 2005.

North America

United States

Reports dealing with the US:

• The BioTown, USA Sourcebook of Biomass Energy by Mark Jenner, PhD; Indiana State Department of Agriculture and Reynolds, Indiana, 3 April 2006. BioTown, USA is a state-level plan to convert Reynolds, Indiana from a reliance on fossil fuels to biomass-based fuels. The sourcebook outlines the biomass resources and technologies potentially available to the town.

Algae

• Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae by Michael Briggs; University of New Hampshire, Physics Department, revised August 2004.

Renewable energy

• Energy R-evolution A SUSTAINABLE WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK: USA National energy scenario - European Renewable Energy Council and Greenpeace; January 2007.
• 25% Renewable Energy for the United States By 2025: Agricultural and Economic Impacts (pdf) by Burton C. English, Daniel G. De La Torre Ugarte, Kim Jensen, Chad Hellwinckel, Jamey Menard, Brad Wilson, Roland Roberts, and Marie Walsh; The University of Tennessee, funded in part by the 25X’25 Work Group, November 2006.
• Energy and Agriculture: Tax and Legal Perspectives (pdf) by Don Uchtmann, Bryan Endres and Gary Hoff; Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, UIUC, 2006.
• Impacts on U.S. Energy Expenditures of Increasing Renewable Energy Use (PDF) by Bernstein, Mark A.,Griffin,Jay Lempert,Robert; RAND Corporation, November 2006. Report states that 25% of US electricity and vehicle fuel could be replaced with renewables at little or no cost to the economy.

Biofuels

• Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States, National Research Council, October 2007.

• Creating Markets for Green Biofuels: Measuring and improving environmental performance (PDF file) by Brian T. Turner, Richard J. Plevin, Michael O’Hare and Alexander E. Farrell; research report, UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies, April 2007. Details a methodology and policy options for a Green Biofuels Index, which would rank biofuels according to how well they met environmental criteria. This would help create a market for more sustainable biofuels.

• Biofuels: Statement Of Keith Collins, Chief Economist, U.S. Department Of Agriculture Before The U.S. Senate Committee On Agriculture, Nutrition And Forestry (PDF file) - 10 January 2007.

• Economic and Agricultural Impacts of Ethanol and Biodiesel Expansion (PDF file) by Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, Burton English, Kim Jensen, Chad Hellwinckel, Jamey Menard, and Brad Wilson; University of Tennessee, funded in part by the Governors' Ethanol Coalition and the National Commission on Energy Policy, December 2006.

• Water Use by Ethanol Plants: Potential Challenges by Dennis Keeney and Mark Muller. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, October 2006.

• The Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production From Sugar in the United States (PDF file) by Dr. Hossein Shapouri and Dr. Michael Salassi (principal authors); USDA, July 2006.

Biodiesel

• What is Biodiesel (pdf) by Shawn P. Conley and Bernie Tao; Purdue University, December 2006.
• Biodiesel Quality: Is All Biodiesel Created Equal? by Shawn P. Conley and Bernie Tao; Purdue University, December 2006.
• Is Biodiesel as Attractive an Economic Alternative as Ethanol? by Allan Gray Department of Agricultural Economics; Purdue University, December 2006.

Biomass

• USDA Agricultural Projections to 2016 (pdf) - Interagency Agricultural Projections Committee, February 2007.
• Achieving Sustainable Production of Agricultural Biomass for Biorefinery Feedstock (PDF) by J. Hettenhaus; CEA Inc. for the Biotechnology Industry Organization Industrial and Environmental Section, November 2006.
• Biomass as feestock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply (pdf) - A joint study by USDA and USDOE, April 2005.

Char

• Black is the new green by Emma Marris; NATURE, Vol 442, 10 August 2006. Article explores the carbon sequestration and fertility benefits of using char produced as a by-product from gasification and other biofuel production technologies.

Ethanol

• Ethanol Expansion in the United States - How Will the Agricultural Sector Adjust? (PDF file) by Paul C. Westcott of the USDA Economic Research Service.
  • This report finds that the effects on agricultural markets of the ongoing expansion of corn-based ethanol in the United States will "extend well beyond the corn sector to supply and demand for other crops, such as soybeans and cotton, as well as to the livestock industries."
• U.S. Ethanol Policy—Possibilities for the Future (pdf) by Wallace E. Tyner; Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, January 2007.
• Ethanol and Energy Policy (pdf) by Otto Doering; Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, December 2006.
• Economics of Ethanol (pdf) by Chris Hurt, Wally Tyner, Otto Doering; Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, December 2006.

Cellulosic ethanol

• Cellulosic Ethanol - Biofuel Beyond Corn by Nathan S. Mosier; Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, December 2006.

Corn ethanol

• How Far Can Corn Take Us? Evaluating the Impacts of Ethanol (PDF file) by the Environmental Finance Center, University of Maryland, College Park, January 2008
• Staying Home: How Ethanol will Change U.S. Corn Exports (PDF) - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, December 2006.
• How Fuel Ethanol Is Made from Corn by Nathan S. Mosier and Klein Ileleji, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, December 2006. This is a simple introduction to how corn becomes ethanol.
• US Federal Trade Commission 2006 Report on Ethanol Market Concentration (PDF) - FTC, 1 December 2006.
• The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors: A Preliminary Assessment (pdf) by Amani Elobeid, Simla Tokgoz, Dermot J. Hayes, Bruce A. Babcock, and Chad E. Hart; Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, November 2006.
• Beyond the RFS: : The Environmental and Economic Impacts of Increased Grain Ethanol Production in the U.S. by Liz Marshall and Suzie Greenhalgh; World Resources Institute, September 2006.
• Estimating the Net Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol (PDF) by Hosein Shapouri, James A. Duffield, and Michael S. Graboski; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Office of Energy, Agricultural Economic Report No. 721. July 1995.

Global warming

• Agriculture's Role in Greenhouse Gas Mitigation by Keith Paustian, John M. Antle, John Sheehan, and Eldor A. Paul; Pew Center on Global Climate Change, September 2006. Includes a discussion of the role of bioenergy.
• Low Carbon Fuel Standard page of the California Energy Commission Technical and policy reports on the low-carbon fuel standard.

Policy

• Understanding and Informing the Policy Environment: State-Level Renewable Fuels Standards by E. Brown, K. Cory, and D. Arent; NREL, January 2007.

Asia

Reports dealing with Asia:

China

• People's Republic of China Bio-Fuels: An Alternative Future for Agriculture 2006 prepared by Kevin Latner, Caleb O'Kray, Junyang Jiang; USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 8 August 2006.
• Environmental and Social Impact Analysis: Stora Enso Plantation project in Guangxi, China UNDP, 5 February 2006. This analyzes the social and environmental impact of a large-scale forest plantation project. Although this project is intended to supply pulp, its impacts are the same as if it were supplying bioenergy.
• Liquid Biofuels for Transportation: Chinese Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century (PDF file) - GTZ, 2005.
• Health, Ecological, Energy And Economic Impacts Of Integrated Agricultural Bioenergy Systems In China And Institutional Strategies For Their Successful Diffusion (pdf) by John Byrne, Young-Doo Wang, William Ritter (supervisors); Center for Energy and Environment Policy, U. of Delaware, October 2004.

India

• An Assessment of the Biofuels Industry in India (pdf) prepared by Joseph B.Gonsalves; UNCTAD, October 2006.
• Validation Report of a Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Biomass Gasifier Power Plant Project in the north-Indian State of Bihar (pdf) by Andreas Gantenbein (Validation by Prof. D. Spreng), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, October 2005.
• Liquid Biofuels for Transportation: India Country Study on Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy (PDF file) - GTZ, 2005.

Indonesia

• Promised Land - Palm Oil and Land Acquisition in Indonesia: Implications for Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples by Marcus Colchester, Norman Jiwan, Andiko, Martua Sirait, Asep Yunan Firdaus, A. Surambo, Herbert Pane; Forest Peoples Programme, Perkumpulan Sawit Watch, HuMA and the World Agroforestry Centre, 2006. "An intensive, multi-disciplinary study of the legal and institutional processes of land acquisition for oil palm plantings in Indonesia with a focus on the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples."

Sri Lanka

• Biogas Technology And Integrated Development (Experiences From Sri Lanka)(.doc) by Sanjeevani Munasinghe; Practical Action.

Thailand

• An Assessment of the Biofuels Industry in Thailand prepared by Joseph B. Gonsalves; UNCTAD, September 2006.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Reports dealing with Latin America and the Carribean:

• A Blueprint for Green Energy in the Americas - Prepared for the Inter-American Development Bank by Garten Rothkopf, April 2007.
• Ethanol Imports and the Caribbean Basin Initiative (pdf), Brent D. Yacobucci, Specialist in Energy Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division, The National Agricultural Law Center, Congressional Research Service Reports, February 10, 2006. While there is a 51 cent tariff on ethanol imported to the US, the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) allows the imports of ethanol duty-free from member countries. Much of the ethanol entering the United States under the CBI is generally produced elsewhere and reprocessed in CBI countries for export to the United States.

Brazil

• Agribusiness and Biofuels: an Explosive Mixture - Impacts of Monoculture Expansion on Bioenergy Production in Brazil by Silvia Noronha, Lúcia Ortiz (general coordination), Sergio Schlesinger (editorial coordination); Friends of the Earth, Brazil, 2006.
• Liquid Biofuels for Transportation in Brazil: Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century (PDF file),GTZ, 2005.
• Sustainability of Brazilian Bioethanol (PDF)by Edward Smeets, Martin Junginger, André Faaij (Utrecht University), Arnaldo Walter, and Paulo Dolzan (State University of Campinas); commissioned by SenterNovem, The Netherlands Agency for Sustainable Development and Innovation, August 2006.
• [http://www.vitaecivilis.org.br/anexos/Ethanol_Sustainability.pdf Sustainability of ethanol from Brazil in the context of demanded biofuels imports

by The Netherlands] by Delcio Rodrigues and Lúcia Ortiz; Vitae Civilis & Friends of the Earth, Brazil, 2006.

Costa Rica

• Clean Power in Costa Rica: Opportunities and Barriers (.doc), by Jessica Morey; Master’s Capstone Project, American University and the UN University for Peace, August 2006. Used with Permission.

Guyana

• Biofuels potential in Guyana prepared by Luiz Augusto Horta, coordinated by Manlio F Coviella; United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, February 2007.

Africa

Reports dealing with Africa:

• Brazil - UK - Africa: Partnership on Bioethanol Scoping Study - British Government, Dept. of Trade and Industry: , s.d. July 2006.
• Turning Food Into Fuel: GM Drought Tolerant Soybean And Its Use In The Production Of Biodiesel African Centre for Biosafety, 10 November 2006.

South Africa

• National Biofuels Study (.pdf) - African Sustainable Fuels Centre, 20 March 2007. "An investigation into the feasibility of establishing a biofuels industry in the Republic of South Africa which was prepared to assist in the development of a national strategy."^[1].

Tanzania

• Liquid Biofuels for Transportation in Tanzania: Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century,GTZ, 2005.

Europe

Reports dealing with the European Union and other European countries:

Biofuels

• The Refuel final road map (PDF file)- "a systematically described set of actions to be taken"..."to encourage a greater market penetration of biofuels" in the European Union - from The Refuel Project, March 2008.

• Biofuels Progress Report - Report on the progress made in the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels in the Member States of the European Union (pdf) - Communication From The Commission To The Council And The European Parliament, 10 January 2007.

• The Introduction of Alternative Fuels in the European Transport Sector:techno-economic Barriers and perspectives E. Tzimas, A. Soria and S.D. Peteves, Joint Research Centre. June 2005

Biogas

• Biogas And Others In Natural Gas Operations (Bongo): A Project Under Development (pdf) by M. van Burgel, co-authors O. Florisson and D. Pinchbeck, paper presented at 23rd World Gas Conference, Amsterdam 2006.

Bioheat

• Bioheat Applications in the European Union: an Analysis and Perspective for 2010 by B. Kavalov and S. D. Peteves, Joint Research Centre. March 2005

Biomass

• Biomass fuel trade in Europe Summary Report VTTR0350807 by Eija Alakangas, Antti Heikkinen, Terhi Lensu & Pirkko Vesterinen; VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Eubionet.com, March 2007.
• Mobilizing Wood Resources: Can Europe's Forests Satisfy the Increasing Demand for Raw Material and Energy under Sustainable Forest Management? Prepared by Gero Becker, Evelyn Coleman, Sebastian Hetsch, Yves Kazemi, Kit Prins; United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe, 22 December 2006.

Climate Change

• A Strategy on Climate-Neutral Fuels, Recommendations to the Dutch Environment Ministry (VROM), July 2006.

Policy

• European biofuel policies in retrospect (pdf) by E. van Thuijl and E.P. Deurwaarder; Energy Research Center of the Netherlands, May 2006.
• European Union Biofuels Policy and Agriculture: An Overview (PDF),by Randy Schnepf, CRS Report for US Congress, 16 March 2006.

Sustainability

• Feasibility Study on Certification for a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management, Ltd., June 2005.

Transport

• Transport and environment: on the way to a new common transport policy - TERM 2006 - indicators tracking transport and environment in the European Union (pdf) - European Enviroment Agency, 2007.

Greece

• USDA GAIN Report: Biofuels Activity in Greece 2007 (pdf) by Stamatis Sekliziotis, USDA, February 2007.

Oceania & Pacific

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