Biofuel Talk, Day 1 at COP-15 - by Corinna Taylor

My first day at the conference has been great so far. Registration didn't take as long a I thought it would. From there we went to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) meeting, which was really crowded and we didn't stay long. Afterwards, Ryan and I went to a talk regarding the Brazilian Sugarcane ethanol as a climate change mitigation effort. This was really interesting. They covered many different issues and projects concerning bioethanol production and use in Brazil, as well as what the EPA is currently doing (drafting final paper for renewable fuels regulations, and doing a life cycle assessment of greenhouse gases, both direct and indirect from the use of ethanol).

A representative from Sweden spoke about the increasing transport emissions in Sweden, increasing 30% recently. They set targets to reduce fossil independence by 2030. In order to do this they will begin by replacing fossil fuels with electricity, biofuels, and energy efficiency. The EU targets for 202 are to have 20% renewable energy and 10% renewable energy in the transportation industry.

One quote from a representative of Brazil was that "biofuels are not the silver bullet for climate change mitigation, but should be the driving force for sustainable development". This could very well be true. Biofuels have been looked upon in a negative sense due to the food security issues, as well as the fact that it takes a lot of energy to produce them. However, this is a very cost effective way of moving into an age of alternative fuels. In Brazil they use mostly sugarcane, whereas in the US the use corn. Whether or not one is better than the other, I don't know. But it seems that, based on our current technologies, growing certain feedstocks, such as rotation crops, would be a good next step. This is not the long term solution, but it is a start.

Ryan suggests that algae is the way of the future. This is the solution that will be sustainable in the long term. He is a pilot, passionate about alternative fuel. He has done much research on the use of algae as a biofuel, saying that it follows the three main factors that are required to produce what would be known as a true green energy source; socio, economic, and sustainable development. I agree with him; this should be the future of biofuel.

Until next time! :)

Corinna Taylor