Title:
The Potential Impacts of the Initiatives Aiming at the Sustainability of Biofuels on the International Trade
Author(s):
Ortolan F. de Oliveira, C., Walter, A.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
The consumption of liquid biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) has increased in recent years but their international trade is still far from being consolidated. One of the main drawbacks for trading have been the trade barriers imposed by the most important markets – the United States and the European Union (EU) – that, in practice, reduce and even eliminate the competitive advantages of some producing countries. In this paper the potential impact of existing sustainability initiatives and certification schemes are analysed, with focus on biofuels trade. One of the main conclusions is that these initiatives/schemes should be developed and implemented aiming at fostering the international trade and significant biofuels production in developing countries. However, it is not possible to act in short term in response to strict principles and criteria; developing countries should participate in the whole decision process, and support should be given to them aiming at, for instance, capacity building, data gathering, technology adaptation, adoption of the best practices, etc. The final message of this paper is that biofuels can only be a relevant, important worldwide and sustainable energy solution in case of a step-by-step and rational approach along the stages of defining and implementing sustainability criteria.
Keywords:
certification, sustainability, trade, biofuels
Topic:
Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability
Subtopic:
Sustainability assessment and criteria
Event:
19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
VP5.2.52
Pages:
2693 - 2697
ISBN-13:
978-88-89407-55-4
ISBN-10:
88-89407-55-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/19thEUBCE2011-VP5.2.52
Price:
FREE
