218
producers. In May 2009, principles and standards for field testing were approved by
the general assembly, and a pilot project was launched. Then in 2010 standards
developed from five principles were adopted at the general assembly (RTRS 2010).
Work is also in progress on preparing the implementation of a certification system,
under a similar framework to that of the palm oil industry, and a certification trading
platform corresponding to palm oil’s book and trade feature was expected to go into
effect in April 2011. Note that it has been agreed that soybean oil certified by the
RTRS in cooperation with the EU can be considered as a biofuel that complies with
the requirements of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED), provided that it
satisfies specific requirements.
c. Sugarcane
Bonsucro is an international nonprofit organization that aims at social, environmental, and economic sustainability of sugarcane-related activities by promoting
the development and use of global standards. The membership is similar to those of
the other crops mentioned, e.g., sugar producers, NGOs, and other stakeholders. In
March 2011, Bonsucro introduced a certification system. It formulated Bonsucro’s
production standards and developed a set of indicators based on five principles, such
as strict compliance with applicable laws. The requirement for certification is 100%
compliance with core indicators and 80% compliance with other indicators
(Bonsucro 2011). The body has also developed a supply chain certification scheme,
making use of MB-based methods. The first supplies of certified sugar are expected
to be available around April 2011. Provisions have also been made for compliance
with the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and Fuel Quality Directive by
including two corresponding sections in the standards. Compliance with these sections will be considered to represent compliance with the EU directives.
B. Regulatory Frameworks in Countries and Regions
Just as US and EU standards and indicator systems are making a substantial impact
on the world, through the international biofuels market, standards and indicators at
the national level have become powerful policy instruments.
In USA, life cycle-based standards relating to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions have been adopted for biofuels used for transportation equipment. In
August 2005, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which mandates the use of biofuels for powering automobiles, was incorporated into the 2005 Energy Policy Law.
The standard stipulated the use of a total of 4 billion gallons (approx. 15 million kL)
of biofuels by 2006, with a steady increase in subsequent years up to a total of 7.5
billion gallons (approx. 28 million kL) by 2012. Then in December 2007 the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 was introduced, which unveiled mediumterm policy guidelines on improving energy efficiency and expanding the production of renewable energy. By upgrading the RFS (to RFS-2), the act set even more
ambitious requirements for biofuel production: 9 billion gallons per year by 2008,
increasing in stages to 36 billion gallons by 2022. It also stipulated that new biofuels
derived from raw materials other than corn must account for at least 21 billion gallons of the 36 billion gallon target for 2022. Furthermore, biofuels must account for
at least 20% of all fuel for transport by 2020. Under this RFS program, biofuels are
S. Arai and H. Matsuda
producers. In May 2009, principles and standards for field testing were approved by
the general assembly, and a pilot project was launched. Then in 2010 standards
developed from five principles were adopted at the general assembly (RTRS 2010).
Work is also in progress on preparing the implementation of a certification system,
under a similar framework to that of the palm oil industry, and a certification trading
platform corresponding to palm oil’s book and trade feature was expected to go into
effect in April 2011. Note that it has been agreed that soybean oil certified by the
RTRS in cooperation with the EU can be considered as a biofuel that complies with
the requirements of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED), provided that it
satisfies specific requirements.
c. Sugarcane
Bonsucro is an international nonprofit organization that aims at social, environmental, and economic sustainability of sugarcane-related activities by promoting
the development and use of global standards. The membership is similar to those of
the other crops mentioned, e.g., sugar producers, NGOs, and other stakeholders. In
March 2011, Bonsucro introduced a certification system. It formulated Bonsucro’s
production standards and developed a set of indicators based on five principles, such
as strict compliance with applicable laws. The requirement for certification is 100%
compliance with core indicators and 80% compliance with other indicators
(Bonsucro 2011). The body has also developed a supply chain certification scheme,
making use of MB-based methods. The first supplies of certified sugar are expected
to be available around April 2011. Provisions have also been made for compliance
with the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and Fuel Quality Directive by
including two corresponding sections in the standards. Compliance with these sections will be considered to represent compliance with the EU directives.
B. Regulatory Frameworks in Countries and Regions
Just as US and EU standards and indicator systems are making a substantial impact
on the world, through the international biofuels market, standards and indicators at
the national level have become powerful policy instruments.
In USA, life cycle-based standards relating to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions have been adopted for biofuels used for transportation equipment. In
August 2005, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which mandates the use of biofuels for powering automobiles, was incorporated into the 2005 Energy Policy Law.
The standard stipulated the use of a total of 4 billion gallons (approx. 15 million kL)
of biofuels by 2006, with a steady increase in subsequent years up to a total of 7.5
billion gallons (approx. 28 million kL) by 2012. Then in December 2007 the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 was introduced, which unveiled mediumterm policy guidelines on improving energy efficiency and expanding the production of renewable energy. By upgrading the RFS (to RFS-2), the act set even more
ambitious requirements for biofuel production: 9 billion gallons per year by 2008,
increasing in stages to 36 billion gallons by 2022. It also stipulated that new biofuels
derived from raw materials other than corn must account for at least 21 billion gallons of the 36 billion gallon target for 2022. Furthermore, biofuels must account for
at least 20% of all fuel for transport by 2020. Under this RFS program, biofuels are
S. Arai and H. Matsuda