213
and US soybean producers have expressed fears that this standard violates WTO
rules relating to PPM (Jakarta Globe 2010, GlobalSubsidies 2011 HP).
At the same time, some countries give “favored nation” treatment to particular
international trading partners. For example, under a preferential import system for
ethanol fuels in the USA, ethanol imports from Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery
Act (CBERA) countries are exempt from import duties, although there is an upper
limit on import volume. In 2006 these countries accounted for 25% of all imports of
ethanol for fuel use, but until 2003 they accounted for 100% of the total import
volume (Uchida 2007).
As the OECD has pointed out, eliminating this kind of trade barrier through an
international consensus on WTO rules relating to certification systems can lead to a
liberalization of international markets that gives rise to more efficient global biofuel
production.
13.1.3.3 Current State of Standards, Indicators, and Certification
for Sustainable Biofuels
According to the UNEP, there are at least 29 sustainable biomass or biofuel-related
initiatives to establish standards, indicators, or certification systems presently being
conducted by various national governments, NGOs, worldwide organizations, and
other bodies (UNEP 2009). As of January 2011, the FAO’s Bioenergy and Food
Security Criteria and Indicators Project (BEFSCI) was dealing with 17 initiatives,
reviewing outlines of regulatory frameworks for the EU and other regions (5 cases),
voluntary standard and certification schemes (10 cases), and scorecards (2 cases),
with most of these cases being related to biofuels.
There are currently many activities in progress all over the world, but here, in
accordance with the FAO classification, we will look at an outline of the main initiatives relating to voluntary standards, indicators, certification systems, and regulatory frameworks (See Tables 13.1 and 13.2).
A. Voluntary Standards, Indicators, and Certification Systems
The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) and the Roundtable on Sustainable
Biofuels (RSB) are aiming to develop nonbinding, voluntary standards and indicators for sustainable biofuel use with a scientific foundation that is available worldwide. Criteria (standards) are defined as categories like sustainability elements,
capacities, or processes that are employed for evaluating the environmental, economic, and social performance of bioenergy production and utilization. Indicators,
on the other hand, are measurable outcomes based on the criteria. They are considered the means for measuring or describing the various perspectives of the criteria.
Of the perspectives represented by the sustainability standards, the environmental,
social, and economic perspectives are indispensable. Thus, indicators are required
to enable appropriate evaluation of these three kinds of issues.
GBEP has recently agreed on 24 indicators in the three fields but found that the
initial indicators they proposed to gage indirect impacts on land utilization due to
13 Key Strategies for Policymakers
and US soybean producers have expressed fears that this standard violates WTO
rules relating to PPM (Jakarta Globe 2010, GlobalSubsidies 2011 HP).
At the same time, some countries give “favored nation” treatment to particular
international trading partners. For example, under a preferential import system for
ethanol fuels in the USA, ethanol imports from Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery
Act (CBERA) countries are exempt from import duties, although there is an upper
limit on import volume. In 2006 these countries accounted for 25% of all imports of
ethanol for fuel use, but until 2003 they accounted for 100% of the total import
volume (Uchida 2007).
As the OECD has pointed out, eliminating this kind of trade barrier through an
international consensus on WTO rules relating to certification systems can lead to a
liberalization of international markets that gives rise to more efficient global biofuel
production.
13.1.3.3 Current State of Standards, Indicators, and Certification
for Sustainable Biofuels
According to the UNEP, there are at least 29 sustainable biomass or biofuel-related
initiatives to establish standards, indicators, or certification systems presently being
conducted by various national governments, NGOs, worldwide organizations, and
other bodies (UNEP 2009). As of January 2011, the FAO’s Bioenergy and Food
Security Criteria and Indicators Project (BEFSCI) was dealing with 17 initiatives,
reviewing outlines of regulatory frameworks for the EU and other regions (5 cases),
voluntary standard and certification schemes (10 cases), and scorecards (2 cases),
with most of these cases being related to biofuels.
There are currently many activities in progress all over the world, but here, in
accordance with the FAO classification, we will look at an outline of the main initiatives relating to voluntary standards, indicators, certification systems, and regulatory frameworks (See Tables 13.1 and 13.2).
A. Voluntary Standards, Indicators, and Certification Systems
The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) and the Roundtable on Sustainable
Biofuels (RSB) are aiming to develop nonbinding, voluntary standards and indicators for sustainable biofuel use with a scientific foundation that is available worldwide. Criteria (standards) are defined as categories like sustainability elements,
capacities, or processes that are employed for evaluating the environmental, economic, and social performance of bioenergy production and utilization. Indicators,
on the other hand, are measurable outcomes based on the criteria. They are considered the means for measuring or describing the various perspectives of the criteria.
Of the perspectives represented by the sustainability standards, the environmental,
social, and economic perspectives are indispensable. Thus, indicators are required
to enable appropriate evaluation of these three kinds of issues.
GBEP has recently agreed on 24 indicators in the three fields but found that the
initial indicators they proposed to gage indirect impacts on land utilization due to
13 Key Strategies for Policymakers