Biofuture Summit II Webinar Discusses Biofuture Principles for Post-COVID Recovery with Bio

(Biofuture Summit II) Experiences in implementing the Five Principles were discussed by government representatives from three continents, private sector, and the IEA. The international crisis related to COVID-19 has heavily impacted bioenergy in the short term through a double shock of price and demand, with the sector requiring attention to avoid lasting damage.

The crisis has also brought to light the need for strong economic recovery programmes across many sectors, and several countries are considering the opportunity to build back better, including sustainable development and environmental considerations as an integral part of recovery packages.

Featuring speakers from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the governments of Canada, France and India, as well as Neste, one of the world’s leaders in advanced biofuels, a Biofuture Summit II / BBEST2020-21 webinar held today has gone through the five Principles and looked at current and future applications at the national level. The main take-aways were:

- The world can ill afford a slump in the sustainable low carbon bioeconomy growth, as it is a key solution to be deployed for the global transition. Yet, COVID-19 has provoked just that in some countries and subsectors, with the IEA projecting a double digit decrease in biofuels production for 2020, the first decrease in more than two decades;

- The five Principles were considered a very important guidance to countries at the current juncture in order to reverse this slump and accelerate the bioeconomy. "Do not backtrack" (principle 1) was a point stressed by all of the speakers, as was the rewarding of sustainability (principle 5).

- The bioeconomy is a solution not only for decarbonizing difficult sectors, especially transport and industry, but can also be a key driver for economic recovery post-COVID, due to its very labor-intensive nature. It is, therefore, a bright example of a "green recovery" sector. Accelerating the sustainable bioeconomy has been linked to, among other positive effects, helping to curb or mitigate unwanted and uncontrolled economic migration from rural areas to cities, by helping to create value and jobs in the fields.

- The single most important element for a sustainable recovery with "Bio" is a stable, predictable, and enabling policy framework that can address the specific challenges and particularities of the sustainable low carbon bioeconomy, combined with targeted action to remove roadblocks at different links of the production and value chain.

About the Biofuture Platform
The Biofuture Platform is a government-led, multi-stakeholder initiative designed to take action on climate change and support the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting international coordination on the sustainable low-carbon bioeconomy. It was launched in Marrakesh at the COP 22 climate talks in November 2016. Since February, 1, 2019, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has been the Facilitator (Secretariat) of the initiative. The Biofuture Platform has twenty member countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Paraguay, the Philippines, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay. As a multi-stakeholder initiative, a number of international organizations, academia, and private sector associations are also involved and engaged as official partners. For more information visit: www.biofutureplatform.org.

About the CEM
The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is a high-level global forum to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best practices, and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy. CEM Initiatives are based on areas of common interest among participating governments and other stakeholders, focusing on empowering energy decision makers around the world with the up-to-date information and tools they need to improve the policy environment for clean energy. As low-cost, high-impact technical works, CEM initiatives also facilitate international coordination that amplifies each government’s clean energy deployment efforts.
For more information, visit: www.cleanenergyministerial.org

About the IEA
The International Energy Agency (IEA) works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond. Its mission is guided by four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement worldwide. Headquartered in Paris, the IEA is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing authoritative analysis through a wide range of publications, including the flagship World Energy Outlook and the IEA Market Reports; data and statistics, such as Key World Energy Statistics and the Monthly Oil Data Service; and a series of training and capacity building workshops, presentations, and resources. For more information visit: www.iea.org. READ MORE includes VIDEO Building Back Better With Bio: Biofuture Principles for Post-Covid Recovery and Acceleration READ MORE