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Global trade in biofuels is expected to increase in the future, due to increased
demand coming from targets for biofuel use in developed countries, and the potential developing countries have to increase supply through agricultural development.
Biofuel imports will also be critical to countries such as Japan that are unable to
meet their domestic targets for biofuel use through domestic production alone. The
OECD contends that import tariffs on biofuel ingredient crops that are aimed at
protecting domestic production and import tariffs on biofuels actually serve as hidden taxes that raise the cost of using biofuels. Furthermore, opening up these markets will reduce the cost and enhance production efficiency as well as decrease
dependency on fossil fuels and reduce impacts on the environment (OECD 2008).
While certification schemes for biofuels bring about product differentiation based
on how biofuels are manufactured and their impacts as determined by life cycle
analysis, there is continuing debate about these schemes’ relevance to World Trade
Organization (WTO) rules when they are used to restrict trade (UNCTAD 2008).
As to the treatment of biofuels in environmental conventions, the Convention on
Biological Diversity specifies that production and use of biofuels should be sustainable from a biodiversity perspective and in particular should minimize negative
impacts on the lives of indigenous and local communities. The Conference of the
Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity has issued a decision urging national governments to apply a precautionary approach to the introduction of
modified organisms for the production of biofuels, in accordance with the Preamble
to the Convention and the Cartagena Protocol (CBD/COP 10 Decision X/37 2010).
The implementation framework for the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change puts into practice the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation (REDD+) program. REDD+ issues funds and credits as economic incentives for reducing CO 2 emissions through clean development mechanism (CDM) projects or efforts by developing countries to restrict deforestation and
forest degradation, in the interest of having forests as important carbon stores but
also as future sources of material for biofuels. These measures form a response
based on the principles prescribed by the Convention on Biological Diversity and
Framework Convention on Climate Change, which place common but differentiated
responsibilities among developed countries and developing countries, and are
important for strengthening international systems to support the sustainable development and use of biofuels.
In any case, it has become essential to respond to north-south issues that accompany financial and technical assistance measures for developing countries and to
establish appropriate trade rules in order to use biofuels sustainably at the global
level.
S. Arai and H. Matsuda
Global trade in biofuels is expected to increase in the future, due to increased
demand coming from targets for biofuel use in developed countries, and the potential developing countries have to increase supply through agricultural development.
Biofuel imports will also be critical to countries such as Japan that are unable to
meet their domestic targets for biofuel use through domestic production alone. The
OECD contends that import tariffs on biofuel ingredient crops that are aimed at
protecting domestic production and import tariffs on biofuels actually serve as hidden taxes that raise the cost of using biofuels. Furthermore, opening up these markets will reduce the cost and enhance production efficiency as well as decrease
dependency on fossil fuels and reduce impacts on the environment (OECD 2008).
While certification schemes for biofuels bring about product differentiation based
on how biofuels are manufactured and their impacts as determined by life cycle
analysis, there is continuing debate about these schemes’ relevance to World Trade
Organization (WTO) rules when they are used to restrict trade (UNCTAD 2008).
As to the treatment of biofuels in environmental conventions, the Convention on
Biological Diversity specifies that production and use of biofuels should be sustainable from a biodiversity perspective and in particular should minimize negative
impacts on the lives of indigenous and local communities. The Conference of the
Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity has issued a decision urging national governments to apply a precautionary approach to the introduction of
modified organisms for the production of biofuels, in accordance with the Preamble
to the Convention and the Cartagena Protocol (CBD/COP 10 Decision X/37 2010).
The implementation framework for the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change puts into practice the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation (REDD+) program. REDD+ issues funds and credits as economic incentives for reducing CO 2 emissions through clean development mechanism (CDM) projects or efforts by developing countries to restrict deforestation and
forest degradation, in the interest of having forests as important carbon stores but
also as future sources of material for biofuels. These measures form a response
based on the principles prescribed by the Convention on Biological Diversity and
Framework Convention on Climate Change, which place common but differentiated
responsibilities among developed countries and developing countries, and are
important for strengthening international systems to support the sustainable development and use of biofuels.
In any case, it has become essential to respond to north-south issues that accompany financial and technical assistance measures for developing countries and to
establish appropriate trade rules in order to use biofuels sustainably at the global
level.
S. Arai and H. Matsuda