Governments, international agenciesaffirm need to massively increasebioenergy and bioproducts to fightclimatechange

São Paulo, October 25. According to projections of international energy agencies, the use ofbioenergyasashareoftheworld’senergyusageneedstomorethandoubleby2030iftheworldistoavoid temperature rises above 2º C. “We have simply no choice. We have to massively scale upbioenergy, and do it fast”, says Paolo Frankl, Head of the Renewable Energy Division at theInternational Energy Agency (IEA). “Sustainable bioenergy is an indispensable component of thenecessary portfolio of low-carbon technologies in ALL climate-change mitigation scenarios”, saidFrankl,basedonthefindingsofakeyupcomingreportonthematter.“Andthere isamajor,major

gapbetweenwhatweneedandwhat ishappeningtoday intermsofthespeedofdeploymentandthescaleofinvestmentsinbioenergy”.

The declarations were made as part of the Biofuture Summit, the first major conference of theBiofuturePlatform,acoalitionoftwentycountrygovernments,industryandtheresearchcommunitylaunched in November 2016 during UNFCCC COP23 inMarrakesh, aimed at the development of amodern, sustainable, low-carbon bioeconomy. The two-day Summit was held in São Paulo, Brazil,October24and25,withmorethan270delegatesfrom28countriescomingtogethertodiscussthebestwaystofacearelevantchallengeforthefutureofhumanity:creatingalarge-scale,sustainable,low-carbonbioeconomy.Itwasheldinpartnershipwithbelow50,acorporatecoalitionsupportedbytheWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) aiming to promote low carbonfuels.

Governmentpolicy-makersfromBrazil,Canada,Finland,India,Italy,UK,theUSA,andothersopenlydebated their respective current and future polices and programmes for bioenergy and thebioeconomy,includingCalifornia’sLCFS,Brazil’supcomingRenovaBio,Canada’sCleanFuelStandard,the US’s 1 Billion Ton Bioeconomy Vision andmore. The bioeconomy, as defined by the Biofutureparticipants,istheuseofbiomassusingtechnologytoproduceenergy,materialsandchemicals,asasustainable,lowcarbonalternativetofossilbasedenergyandproducts.

Fortheirpart,industrymembershighlightedkeyadvancesinconversiontechnologiesandagriculturalrevolutions, such as the high-density energy-cane, waste and biomethane usage, cellulosicconversion,andmanyothers.“Technologyriskisnolongerthemainchallengeasitwasafewyearsago,butaccesstocapitalresources”,saysBernardoGradin,CEOofGranBio,acompanyresponsibleforoneoffivefirst-in-class,commercialscalesecondgenerationethanolplantsintheworld.

“Humanpsicologytendstooversimplifythingsindicotomieslike‘foodversusfuel’or‘eletricvehiclesversusbiofuels’,whileanyseriousanalysistakinginconsiderationthetrends,projections,andusecaseswillexposethosedicotomiesasfalse”,saysAloysioNunesFerreira,Brazil’sMinisterforForeignAffairs,hostingthesummit.“It’sproventhatweneedelectricvehicles,andatthesametimeaquickdeploymentofbiofuelsintheexistingvehiclefleetandinfrastructureiftheworldistomeetitsclimategoals.It’salsoproventhatwiththerightcombinationofpolicies,technologyandregulation,wecanproducemorefoodANDmoreenergy,allthewhilereducingdeforestation”,saidMrNunes.

“Renewablebioenergysolutionstotransportarekey:asinputstopowerforelectricvehicles,asbiofuelsforlightvehiclesasEVsphasein,andasbiofuelsforaviation,marineandfreightinthelongterm”,agreedSakariOksanen,DeputyDirectorGeneraloftheInternationalRenewableEnergyAgency(IRENA).

Havinglittlelandtospareandmanypeopletofeed,Indiaisbettinghighonsecond-generationtechnologiesandtheuseofresiduestoscaleupitsbioeconomyusingriceandmaizestrawandotherfeedstocks,saidY.B.Ramakrishna,ChairmanoftheWorkingGrouponBioFuelsofIndia’sMinistryofPetroleum&NaturalGas.“ThegoalinIndiaistoquicklyachieve10%bio-ethanolblendinginpetroland5%bio-dieselblendingindieselby2022.Indianoilcompaniesaretotosetuptwelvesecondgenerationplantsacross11statesofthecountry.”

Therewasaclear,emergingconsensusamongthemanyviewsexpressedbythe47speakersandthepublicofpolicymakersaroundafewkeymessages:

a) bioenergy needsto be urgently scaled up,along with an expandedbioeconomy for advancedbioproducts andbiomaterials, in order tofightclimatechange;

b) there is amplefeedstock potential to besustainably tappedthroughsmartagriculturalpractices,intensificationoflivestock, 2nd generationand other advancedbiofuels; high-density

energycrops,andusingruralandurbanwaste;c) besides theclimateadvantages, thebioeconomyoffershugeopportunities for jobcreation,

sustainable development, technological innovation, agriculture intensification and energysecurity;

d) Bold, smart policies and stable frameworks will be needed to level the playing field andovercome the huge challenges facing the sector, including lack of investments, policyuncertainty,lowoilprices,lackofcapitalforearlystagetechnologies,fossilfuelsubsidiesandlacktheofacomprehensivesustainabilityframework.

The Summit’s deliberations fed into the Biofuture Vision Statement, a document to be officiallyendorsed byMinisters and high-level representatives of the 20Member Countries of the BiofuturePlatform in November 16, at the 23rd Conference of the Parties of the United Nations FrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCCCCOP23),whichtakesplacefrom6to17NovemberinBonn,

in Germany. Among the purposes of the Vision Statement is helping elevate the sustainable lowcarbon bioeconomy in the global agenda as an urgent solution to combat climate change, andprovidingastrongsignaltomarketsandinvestorsaboutthelargeexpectedroleforthesectorinthenextdecades.

“TheBiofuturePlatform is a key part of amuchneededeffort to put back bioenergy in the globalagenda”, said Rasmus Valanko, Climate and Energy Director of the World Business Council forSustainable Development (WBCSD). “It is a mechanism where governments, private sector andacademiaareabletoverydynamicallycooperate”.

Launchedby initiativeof thegovernmentofBrazil,whichnowservesas its interimSecretariat, theBiofuture Platform has as its Member States Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt,Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy,Morocco,Mozambique, Paraguay, the Philippines, Sweden,theUnitedKingdom,theUnitedStatesandUruguay.ThePlatformaimstofacilitatepoliticaldialogueandcollaborationamongleadingcountries,organizations,academiaandtheprivatesector,awareofthe need to accelerate development and expand the deployment of sustainable low carbonalternatives solutions to fossil fuels in transport, chemicals, plastics and other sectors. Thegovernment of Brazil, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, currently acts as facilitator of theinitiative.

INFORMATIONFORTHEMEDIA

BiofutureSummit2017-October24and25(OPENINGSESSION24/10,8:30AM)

LOCATION:EstanplazaInternationalHotel,R.FernandesMoreira,1293-ChácaraSantoAntônio,SãoPaulo-SP.

DATE:October24thand25th,2017

FULLPROGRAMME, SPEAKERPHOTOSANDBIOS, PHOTOSFROMTHEEVENT, STATEMENTSANDPRESENTATIONSDELIVERED:http://www.biofuturesummit.com

MOREABOUTTHEBIOFUTUREPLATFORM:www.biofutureplatform.org

MOREABOUTbelow50:www.below50.org

PRESSCONTACT:facilitator@biofutureplatform.org

ADDITIONALQUOTES:

Weneedtoseerenewableenergytakinganevenbiggerpartofourenergymixinaquickerandquickertimeframe.

Biofuelsaregoingtohavetobeaveryimportantpartofthattodrivetheentireeconomyforwardandtoprovidereliable,affordable,cleanenergyforall

RachelKyte,SpecialRepresentativeoftheUNSecretaryGeneralforSustainableEnergyforAll

Youcan’tlookintothefuturewithoutaportoliooftechnologiesinwhichbioenergywillleadalongwithotherrenewableenergies.Bioenergyhastogrowrapidly,especiallyintransport,responsibleforalmostaquarterofman-madeGHGemissions.

Ipointoutthecaseoftheaviationsector,forwhichthereisnootheravailablesolutionoutsideoflowcarbonbiofuels

PaulSimons,DeputyExecutiveDirector,IEA

“Climateobjectivescallforlowercarbonfuelmix-Canadahasastronginterestintransitioningtoalowercarboneconomywhichwillundoubtedlyhaveimplicationsfor

thebroaderbioeconomy(e.g.biochemical,bioproducts)”

“Canadaneedstoseizetheopportunityofbiomassadvantageandtechnologyadvantage-InnovationwillbeplayakeyroleinCanada’sprosperityandhowweuse

ourrenewableresourcesmostsustainably”

PaulaVieira,DirectorTransportationandAlternativeFuelsDivision,Canada.

“Biomassisaverypromisingsubstituteofmanyfossil-basedproducts.”

“Multipleuseofbiomasscallsfornewtypesofbusinessecosystems,wherethematerialandenergyflowareutilisedbyseveralactors–utilisingeverythingincludingwasteandsidestreamsonawin-win-basis”.

MarkkuJärvenpää,SeniorVicePresident,internationalaffairs,NationalResourcesInstitute(LUKE),Finland

“NationalEnergyPolicyisbeingproposedinIndiatobringinanecosystemtosupportR&DinEnergysector,promotingnewtechnologydevelopmentforalternate

fuels,deploymentwithinvolvementoflineMinistries,engagementwithprivatesectorforbothinvestmentandtechnologydevelopmentandcommercialization.”

SangitaKasture,JointDirector,MinistryofScienceandTechnology,India

“Bioenergyrepresentsamajortypeofrenewableenergy.Assuch,itiskeytosupportingtheUNSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)inthecontextofclimatechangeandenergysecurity.”

“AssummarizedbytheIPCC5thAssessmentReport,integratedassessmentmodellingindicatesahighriskoffailingtomeetlong-termclimatetargetswithoutbioenergy.GlobalassessmentsbyREN21,IEAandIRENAfindthatbioenergyaccountsforhalfofthemostcost-effectiveoptionsfordoublingrenewableenergyuseby2030.“

“Biofuelsaremoreovertheonlycurrentpracticalalternativetofossilfuelsforaviation,marineshippingandheavyfreighttransport.Theattitudetowardsbiomassproductionforfood,bioenergyandotherpurposesshouldevolvefromsingleend-useorientationtointegratedproductionsystemsthatensurehighresourceuseefficiencyandrewardsustainableproductionanduse.

JeffreySkeer,SeniorProgrammeOfficer,IRENA

IleaveBrazilnowwithasenseofbeingonthecuspofabiorevolution,supportedbymacroeconomics,globaltrendsandthekeystakeholderswewillneed.The

BiofuturePlatformwillbekeytorealisingtheopportunity.

RasmusValanko,DirectorofClimate&Energy,WBCSD

Thesoberingmessage:Massivescale-upisneededforadvancedbiofuels.Theroleofmarketswillbekey,butinthenear&mediumterm,policyandregulationwilllikelydictatethepace.

Sustainabilitywillremainkey.Globalsupplychainsneedglobalsustainabilityassurance.

ChristianZinglersen,HeadoftheCleanEnergyMinisterialSecretariat(CEM)

Bioenergyinfinalenergyconsumptionneedstodoubleby2030,andbiofuelsintransporttriple.Advancedbiofuelswillneedamassivescaleup

Astep-changeisneededinsupportpoliciesforadvancedbiofuels,inorderindustrytodemonstrateeconomiesofscaleanddelivernecessarycostreductionstowards

competitiveness

TheBiofuturePlatformcanplayakeyroleinprofileraisingandstimulatingpolicyaccess.

PaoloFrankl,HeadofRenewableEnergyDivision,IEA

Inprinciplethereisenoughsustainablebiomassavailabletofulfilthedemandforfood,feed,transport,chemicalsandmaterials.However,thisrequires:supplyofsustainablebiomass,efficientandcircularuseofbiomassinbiorefineries,useanintegralsustainabilityassessmentframework,innovation.

KeesKwant,IEABioenergyChair

Evenwithaggressivereductionsintravelgrowth,shiftstomasstransportmodes,strongefficiencyimprovements,anddeepmarketpenetrationbyvehicles

runningonelectricityandhydrogen,thereremainsalargedemandfordenseliquidfuelsin2050(80%oftransportationfuel)andevenin2075(50%).

PlinioNastari,MemberofBrazil´sNationalCouncilonEnergyPolicy(CNPE)