4.5 Conclusions
83
preference for business-friendly self-regulation mechanisms; and the exclusion of
alternative views—such as food sovereignty
2 —from the debate. Given the lack of
fora where such actors can influence the global biofuel agenda, their international
influence becomes dependent on their capacity to sway their states. However, there
they might have difficulty facing the larger and more powerful agro-industry lobbies.
This global experience in steering biofuels development since at least 2005 has
shaped the initial governance patterns of the broader bioeconomy. As seen most
explicitly in the cases of IEA Bioenergy (now addressing also bioproducts) and of
the RSB (simply renamed from Roundtable of Sustainable Biofuels to Roundtable
of Sustainable Biomaterials), international bioeconomy governance builds on the
biofuels experience. The institutional framework set up for biofuels exerts some path
dependency and has been merely broadened without any qualitative change, which
becomes increasingly difficult. However, change may be needed if the bioeconomy
is to address the vulnerabilities of weaker actors, issues of inclusiveness, and fulfill
its potential to meet broader sustainable development goals.
References
Afionis S, Stringer LC (2020) Fuelling friendships or driving divergence? Legitimacy, coherence,
and negotiation in Brazilian perceptions of European and American biofuels governance. Energy
Res Soc Sci 67:101487
Altieri MA, Toledo VM (2011) The agroecological revolution in Latin America: Rescuing nature,
ensuring food sovereignty and empowering peasants. J Peasant Stud 38(3):587–612
Bachrach P, Baratz MM (1962) Two faces of power. Am Polit Sci Rev 56(4):947–952
Bastos Lima MG (2009) Biofuel governance and international legal principles: Is it equitable and
sustainable? Melbourne J Int Law 10(2):479–492
Bastos Lima MG (2012) The Brazilian biofuel industry: Achievements and geopolitical challenges.
In: Amineh MP, Guang Y (eds) Secure oil and alternative energy: The geopolitics of energy paths
of China and the European Union. Brill Publishing, Leiden, pp 343–369
Bastos Lima MG (2018) Toward multipurpose agriculture: Food, fuels, flex crops, and prospects
for a bioeconomy. Glob Environ Politics 18(2):143–150
Bastos Lima MG, Gupta J (2013) The policy context of biofuels: A case of non-governance at the
global level? Glob Environ Politics 13(2):46–64
Bastos Lima MG, Gupta J (2014) The extraterritorial dimensions of biofuel policies and the politics
of scale: Live and let die? Third World Q 35(3):392–410
Borger J (2008) US biofuel subsidies under attack at food summit. The Guardian. http://www.the
guardian.com/environment/2008/jun/03/biofuels.energy. Accessed 11 Oct 2020
Borras SM, Franco JC (2012) Global land grabbing and trajectories of agrarian change: A
preliminary analysus. J Agrarian Change 12(1):34–59
Boussena C, Locatelli C (2013) Energy institutional and organisational changes in EU and Russia:
Revisiting gas relations. Energy Policy 55:180–189
Buffet L (2018) Up in smoke: Europe’s cars driving deforestation in South East Asia: Diesel cars
burn more than half of palm oil imported into Europe - 2017 figures. Transp Environ, Brussels
2 In short, food sovereignty refers to the rights of local communities to define and control their agrifood system. It prioritizes local needs and actors, and strives for equity, sustainability, and healthy
living. See Altieri and Toledo (2011) and Rossett and Martinez-Torres (2012).
83
preference for business-friendly self-regulation mechanisms; and the exclusion of
alternative views—such as food sovereignty
2 —from the debate. Given the lack of
fora where such actors can influence the global biofuel agenda, their international
influence becomes dependent on their capacity to sway their states. However, there
they might have difficulty facing the larger and more powerful agro-industry lobbies.
This global experience in steering biofuels development since at least 2005 has
shaped the initial governance patterns of the broader bioeconomy. As seen most
explicitly in the cases of IEA Bioenergy (now addressing also bioproducts) and of
the RSB (simply renamed from Roundtable of Sustainable Biofuels to Roundtable
of Sustainable Biomaterials), international bioeconomy governance builds on the
biofuels experience. The institutional framework set up for biofuels exerts some path
dependency and has been merely broadened without any qualitative change, which
becomes increasingly difficult. However, change may be needed if the bioeconomy
is to address the vulnerabilities of weaker actors, issues of inclusiveness, and fulfill
its potential to meet broader sustainable development goals.
References
Afionis S, Stringer LC (2020) Fuelling friendships or driving divergence? Legitimacy, coherence,
and negotiation in Brazilian perceptions of European and American biofuels governance. Energy
Res Soc Sci 67:101487
Altieri MA, Toledo VM (2011) The agroecological revolution in Latin America: Rescuing nature,
ensuring food sovereignty and empowering peasants. J Peasant Stud 38(3):587–612
Bachrach P, Baratz MM (1962) Two faces of power. Am Polit Sci Rev 56(4):947–952
Bastos Lima MG (2009) Biofuel governance and international legal principles: Is it equitable and
sustainable? Melbourne J Int Law 10(2):479–492
Bastos Lima MG (2012) The Brazilian biofuel industry: Achievements and geopolitical challenges.
In: Amineh MP, Guang Y (eds) Secure oil and alternative energy: The geopolitics of energy paths
of China and the European Union. Brill Publishing, Leiden, pp 343–369
Bastos Lima MG (2018) Toward multipurpose agriculture: Food, fuels, flex crops, and prospects
for a bioeconomy. Glob Environ Politics 18(2):143–150
Bastos Lima MG, Gupta J (2013) The policy context of biofuels: A case of non-governance at the
global level? Glob Environ Politics 13(2):46–64
Bastos Lima MG, Gupta J (2014) The extraterritorial dimensions of biofuel policies and the politics
of scale: Live and let die? Third World Q 35(3):392–410
Borger J (2008) US biofuel subsidies under attack at food summit. The Guardian. http://www.the
guardian.com/environment/2008/jun/03/biofuels.energy. Accessed 11 Oct 2020
Borras SM, Franco JC (2012) Global land grabbing and trajectories of agrarian change: A
preliminary analysus. J Agrarian Change 12(1):34–59
Boussena C, Locatelli C (2013) Energy institutional and organisational changes in EU and Russia:
Revisiting gas relations. Energy Policy 55:180–189
Buffet L (2018) Up in smoke: Europe’s cars driving deforestation in South East Asia: Diesel cars
burn more than half of palm oil imported into Europe - 2017 figures. Transp Environ, Brussels
2 In short, food sovereignty refers to the rights of local communities to define and control their agrifood system. It prioritizes local needs and actors, and strives for equity, sustainability, and healthy
living. See Altieri and Toledo (2011) and Rossett and Martinez-Torres (2012).