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To produce, trade on or use agricultural products as fuel—a practice as old as human history—has become a policy riddle spawning emotional debate and multiple, sometimes competing and conflicting, measures and actions. Today, many see fuel derivatives from agricultural produce and forests as a new frontier in energy supply. In a context of action against climate change, the carbon emissions efficiency of some energy crops has emerged as a promising, powerful alternative to the use of fossil fuels.

These Notes from the Field summarise the governance guidelines developed by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) to address the key challenges that policy-makers face when designing and implementing policies and regulations for the increasing production, trade and use of bioenergy. The guidelines comprise an integrated and coherent set of policy recommendations and practical actions to help policy-makers and industry account for the various trade-offs presented by bioenergy and develop sustainable bioenergy production for domestic use and international trade.

The sustainable production of bioenergy is vital to avoiding negative impacts on environmental goods such as climate, soil, water, and especially biodiversity. We propose three key issues that should be addressed in any biodiversity risk-mitigation strategy: conservation of areas of significant biodiversity value; mitigation of negative effects related to indirect land-use change; and promotion of agricultural practices with few negative impacts on biodiversity.

The expectations with respect to biomass as a resource for sustainable energy are sky-high. Many industrialized countries have adopted ambitious policy targets and have introduced financial measures to stimulate the production or use of bioenergy. Meanwhile, the side-effects and associated risks have been pointed out as well. To be able to make a well-informed decision, the Dutch government has expressed the intention to include sustainability criteria into relevant policy instruments.

Taking Brazilian bioethanol as an example, this paper presents possible sustainability criteria for a certification scheme aimed to minimize negative socio-ecological impacts and to increase the sustainable production of biomass. We describe the methods that have led us to the identification of a first set of feasible sustainability criteria for Brazilian bioethanol and discuss issues to be considered when developing certification schemes for sustainability.

Sustainable bioenergy systems are, by definition, embedded in social, economic, and environmental contexts and depend on support of many stakeholders with different perspectives. The resulting complexity constitutes a major barrier to the implementation of bioenergy projects. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the potential of Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) to facilitate the design and implementation of sustainable bioenergy projects.

Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods have become increasingly popular in decision-making for sustainable energy because of the multi-dimensionality of the sustainability goal and the complexity of socio-economic and biophysical systems. This article reviewed the corresponding methods in different stages of multi-criteria decision-making for sustainable energy, i.e., criteria selection, criteria weighting, evaluation, and final aggregation. The criteria of energy supply systems are summarized from technical, economic, environmental and social aspects.

Environmental impacts associated with the use of fossil fuels, rising prices, potential limitations in supply and concerns about regional and national security are driving the development and use of biomass for bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts. However, the use of biomass does not automatically imply that its production, conversion and use are sustainable. In order to operationalize sustainability assessments of biomass systems, it is crucial to identify critical criteria, but keep their number and measurement at a manageable level.

Developing scientific criteria and indicators should play a critical role in charting a sustainable path for the rapidly developing biofuel industry. The challenge ahead in developing such criteria and indicators is to address the limitations on data and modeling.

Bioenergy from sustainably managed forest ecosystems could provide a renewable, carbon-neutral source of energy in many nations and communities throughout the world. In order for forest bioenergy to be an ecologically sustainable fuel source, woodfuel procurement systems must not adversely impact forest ecosystems or the environment. Sustainable forest management (SFM) certification schemes are one mechanism for applying standards and monitoring regimes to forest management systems to ensure ecological sustainability.

The expectations with respect to biomass as a resource for sustainable energy are sky-high. Many industrialized countries have adopted ambitious policy targets and have introduced financial measures to stimulate the production or use of bioenergy. Meanwhile, the side-effects and associated risks have been pointed out as well. To be able to make a well-informed decision, the Dutch government has expressed the intention to include sustainability criteria into relevant policy instruments.

Sustainable energy is the problem of the 21st century. If biofuels want to be part of the solution they must accept a degree of scrutiny unprecedented in the development of a new industry. That is because sustainability deals explicitly with the role of biofuels in ensuring the well-being of our planet, our economy, and our society both today and in the future. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been the standard framework for assessing sustainability of biofuels.

Developing scientific criteria and indicators should play a critical role in charting a sustainable path for the rapidly developing biofuel industry. The challenge ahead in developing such criteria and indicators is to address the limitations on data and modeling.

The compatibility of selected metals representative of those commonly used in dispensing
systems was evaluated in an aggressive E20 formulation (CE20a) and in synthetic gasoline
(Reference Fuel C) in identical testing to facilitate comparison of results. The testing was
performed at modestly elevated temperature (nominally 60°C) and with constant fluid flow in an
effort to accelerate potential interactions in the screening test.
Based on weight change, the general corrosion of all individual coupons exposed in the vapor

Relationships between people and their environment are largely defined by land use. Space and soil are needed for native plants and wildlife, as well as for crops used for food, feed, fiber, wood products and biofuel (liquid fuel derived from plant material). People also use land for homes, schools, jobs, transportation, mining and recreation. Social and economic forces influence the allocation of land to various uses. The

As we enter the 21st century, policy-makers face complex decisions regarding options for meeting the demand for transportation fuels. There is now a broad scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels has been contributing to climate change,1 and the transportation sector is a major contributor (see Figure 1). Yet global demand for energy and transport fuel is rapidly rising.

Current biofuels do not add to the sustainability of transport: This report assesses the impact of the European Commission"s proposal for a new Renewable Directive, focusing on the specific target for the transport sector, which is 10% in 2020. The Commission proposes criteria to guarantee the sustainability of biofuels. In the criteria, only greenhouse gas reductions through the use of biofuels and the biodiversity concerns per consignment are addressed. Other environmental aspects and issues, such as food security, are addressed in reporting obligations.

The German Biokraftstoffquotengesetz, the EU Biofuel Directive and other policy making initiatives lead to promote the production and use of bioenergy, liquid biofuel for transportation in particular. Such an increase requires a reliable verification on compliance with sustainability principles on a global scale. Domestic biofuels (e.g. RME) have to meet the same standards as palm oil or ethanol from sugarcane imported from tropical regions and vice verse. As a first step the German government has passed the Draft Biomass Sustainability Regulation in December 2007 hat die Bundesregierung.

Against the background of an increasing global demand for bio-energy, the need for sustainability standards and a certification system ensuring sustainable production and trade has grown rapidly. Nevertheless, there is currently no specific forum for discussions on how to deal with biomass trade at the multilateral level. Distortions in agricultural and energy trade regimes, the myriad of standards and the lack of a clear biomass classification in the multilateral trade regime suggest that bio-energy products may not deliver sustainable development gains for all trading partners.