13
Aug 2008 - A global panel of experts have
today lent their support to a draft standard
for the use of sustainable biofuels that
will inject some rigour into the murky debate
about the embracing of biofuels that may
cause more emissions than they save.
Behind the debate were
concerns that fuelling the world might be
running into conflict with feeding the world
and that being green at the fuel bowser
might be linked with large scale deforestation,
forest fires and species loss.
The new standard to
allow environmental and social impact comparisons
of rival biofuels was endorsed by the steering
board of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
(RSB), and developed through a multi-stakeholder
process that involves business, academics
and environmentalists.
“With all of the mixed
messages we hear about biofuels, there is
a clear need for a standard that can differentiate
the good from the bad,” said Dr. Claude
Martin, formerly Director-General of WWF,
and current chair of the RSB. “For an issue
of such seminal importance, it was necessary
to bring many different stakeholder groups
together to agree on how to define and measure
sustainable biofuels”
The RSB, housed at the
Energy Center at the Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), is comprised
of over three hundred experts from organisations,
corporations and civil society groups, including
UNEP, WWF, and a number of fossil fuel producers
such as BP and Shell.
Next to market players,
it is thought that the draft standard could
also provide a useful tool for policy makers
seeking to develop appropriate standards
and certification schemes, and fill gaps
that exist across legislative frameworks
for biofuels.
It will also look to
build on standards that are already in place,
such as those put forth by the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC), to provide a
robust set of standards that stand up to
scrutiny.
Further discussions
in Lausanne will be directed toward the
adoption of a set of principles that will
address the full extent of concerns on the
use of biofuels.
These are not solely
limited to fuel price or carbon emissions,
and incorporate social and environmental
impacts right along the supply chain, including
rural development, protection of land and
labour rights, and maintaining biodiversity
and food security.
“Ensuring sustainability
is what all these discussions are hinged
upon” said Jean-Philippe Denruyter, Global
Bioenergy Coordinator at WWF and member
of the RSB board. “Biofuels are one of a
number of potential alternatives to fossil
fuels, and today’s agreement allows us to
initiate a stakeholder-driven process that
will determine their value right across
the production process, from field or forest
to tank”
