Today Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) has announced the publication of his report on sustainability indicators for bioenergy, thereby providing a valuable resource for states in the evaluation and development of sustainable production and consumption of bioenergy.
The report is the first global agreement at the governmental level, to define a set of sustainability indicators in this area and it demonstrates the success achieved by the GBEP complete, successfully, the mandates received from the G8 Summit in 2008, 2009 and 2010 .
“The report GBEP is unique because it represents the product of a multilateral initiative, alone in the wide array of governmental and international organizations, it has built consensus on sustainable development of bioenergy,” said Corrado Clini, Italian Environment Minister and GBEP’s President. “Sustainability is the key to ensure that bioenergy reach their potential both in developed countries than in developing countries. GBEP indicators offer a valuable tool to help define policies and to monitor the contribution that bioenergy can make to sustainable development”.
The occasion for the announcement of the publication of the report “The Global Bioenergy Partnership Sustainability Indicators for Bioenergy” was the opening of the World Future Energy Summit and the launch of the International Sustainable Energy for All, in Abu Dhabi .
Edison Lobão, Minister of Energy of Brazil, who co-chairs GBEP along with Italy, congratulated “all GBEP Partners to achieve the objective”. In his speech yesterday, the lunch of the Ministers of second session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), added: “The report is an innovative tool to help national policymakers to make informed decisions on sustainable development of bioenergy in order to mitigate climate change, increase energy security and promoting development, encouraging investment, improving infrastructure, increasing productivity and access”.
The report – in which are presented the 24 sustainability indicators, together with the methodological guidelines for measuring each of them – is to provide policy-makers and stakeholders a tool that can help programs and policies for bioenergy development and aid interpret and respond to environmental, social and economic benefits of their production and use. The indicators have an holistic approach to the assessment of many important aspects of the interrelations between bioenergy and sustainability, including greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, the cost and availability of food at the national level, access to energy, economic development and energy security.
GBEP indicators have already been measured at the national level in Japan, other partners have expressed their willingness to apply them in their respective countries. In addition, the work of the partnership is continuing with pilot projects in Indonesia, Colombia and Ghana.
Based on the results of these activities, the Working Group on Capacity Building for Sustainable Bioenergy, born recently, work towards strengthening the cooperation between GBEP Partners and Observers. The aim of the initiative is to increase the awareness of potential benefits of modern bioenergy and sustainable through initiatives such as seminars, study tours and public forums. All activities and projects developed by and during the working group will be led by a country/organization member of the GBEP. In addition, the infant body will promote cooperation and capacity building, information sharing, facilitating discussion and identifying opportunities for cooperation in the field.
