Biofuel development and forests: Impacts and implications for governance

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6 December, 2011
17:00 - 18:45
Room Tugela, North Beach Hotel
Durban, South Africa

Preoccupation with energy security and global climate change in industrialized countries have together placed biofuels firmly on the map of global land-use change. Biofuels are viewed by many as having the potential to satisfy a portion of the world's energy demand in a sustainable way while reducing its climate impact. While this may be true under certain circumstances, a number of recent findings bring this assumption into question while simultaneously raising concerns about the social and economic costs of such a fuel transition. This panel will present findings from research carried out by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Joanneum Research, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), the Council on Strategic and Industrial Research (CSIR), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Profundo Economic Research.

Presentations and discussions will explore the global trends in biofuel production, trade and finance, carbon accounting methods and options, local social and environmental impacts of biofuels in forest frontiers, the effectiveness of national legal and institutional frameworks and market-driven initiatives for regulating the feedstock sector, and will discuss the impacts policy options for biofuel development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Session I: Trends and implications from biofuel development

  • (10 min) Evolution of biofuels markets under the EU-RED: land use, trade and energy/climate policy implications (Francis Johnson)
  • (10 min) Biofuel finance and investments: Trends and implications for forests (Jan Willem van Gelder)
  • (10 min) Carbon accounting options: Description, evaluation and implications (Neil Bird)
  • (20 min) Discussion (moderated by Markku Kanninen)

Session II: Impacts and instruments for governing biofuel expansion

  • (15 min) Local social and environmental impacts of biofuels in forest frontiers (Laura German)
  • (10 min) Governing biofuel impacts: Regulations and market-based governance systems (George Schoneveld)
  • (10 min) Biofuel development in sub-Saharan Africa: Trends, impacts and policy options (Graham von Maltitz)
  • (20 min) Discussion (moderated by Andrew Wardell)

Register by clicking here.