Martina OttoHead of Policy Unit, Energy Branch

Coordinator Bioenergymartina.otto@unep.org

www.unep.fr/energy/bioenergy

AU / UN ECA Bioenergy Programme

Mainstream African Bioenergy Policy Framework and Guidelines

Nairobi, 16-18 September 2013

UNEP’s approach to bioenergy

Bioenergy is neither good nor bad per se; to avoid unintended consequences in the short and long-term,

bioenergy development requires solid planning and management,both on the national policy and strategy and the project levels.

Scientific assessments:

International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management: Assessing Biofuels report (2009)

The Bioenergy and Water Nexus, UNEP, IEA Bioenergy Task 43, Oeko Institut (2011)

Issue Paper series on emerging issues: Land use and land use change ; Bioenergy and Water; Invasive species; Stakeholder consultation; Group Certification; Facilitating Energy Access; REDD+

Assessments & Guidelines for Sustainable Liquid Biofuel Production in Developing Countries, funded by GEF, implemented with FAO and UNIDO, providing guidance on environmental, social and economic performance of biofuel projects.

Tools:

Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP): -Methodological framework for GHG calculations-Sustainability criteria & indicators

Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB): -solid multi-stakeholder process-all major issues are covered

UN Energy Decision Support Tool for Sustainable Bioenergy (DST), developed by UNEP and FAO to provide stepwise guidance to decision makers in governments to develop sustainable bioenergy policies and strategies, and to assess investment proposals.

Finance:

CASCADe: enhancing African expertise to generate carbon credits in the forestry and bioenergy sectors by providing technical assistance, institutional support and training workshops.

Jatropha-based PoA: assessing the feasibility of a CDM Programme of Activities for rural energy generation from Jatropha oil in Mali.

African Rural Energy Enterprise Development promoting rural energy enterprises, includes a bioenergy component that allows to demonstrate additional environmental and social benefits resulting from ‘local production for local use’ projects.performance of biofuel projects, using a settings approach.

Regional and national support:

Bioenergy Policy Support Facility, providing advisory services to governments developing and implementing bioenergy policies, strategies and measures, mobilizing local and international experts: targeted consultations; science-based information for decision making; advice on legal frameworks, planning and management tools; and guidance on processes to facilitate integrated decision-making.

Mapping of land suitable and available for bioenergy development: -Methodology refined (GIS and groundtruthing)-completed in Kenya, Uganda, Senegal

Bioenergy Decision Support Tool

Sustainability Standards

Global Bioenergy Partnership – 24 sustainability indicators

Outline

step-wise guidance for strategy formulation and investment decision-making processes; providing a decision framework for governments to develop their own responses

repository of technical resources and links to existing tools, guidelines and resources

guidance on identification and inclusion of stakeholders in the bioenergy decision-making process and on adopting transparent processes for good governance

www.bioenergydecisiontool.orga web-based tool and living document developed by FAO and UNEP under the framework of UN Energy

to assist countries to manage risks and challenges, in a process anchored in each country’s specific context

A National Strategy Decision Tree

Feedstocks and technologies

Legal and policy frameworks

WHO•Stakeholder engagement at the inception of policy and strategy development•Comprehensiveness vs. practicability•Process, if possible tied into an existing national development process•Example in the region: Mozambique

design policy; housed in the Ministry in charge

sounding board; feedback in a structured manner

Quality of engagement; Provision of necessary information; capacity building

Listen to needs from men and women

WHY•Different policy objectives can motivate bioenergy development; achieving these will influence the pathway taken in a given country/region, making the WHY the logical starting point for any strategy and policy development•From objectives to priorities

Gender

Articulating Objectives – Assessing alternatives•Judge added value of bioenergy for national and regional development goals•Matching energy resource endowments with energy demands by end use•Although some alternatives may be more desirable within one objective, it is important to look across the objectives to identify multiple benefits•This process pre-empts to some degree the next steps – feedback loops

•Example: Forests can be managed based on rural development needs, as carbon sinks or as sources of bioenergy. Look for ways to integrate them!

WHY cont’d•Consider external drivers to ensure that bioenergy market can develop over time and is robust. •Look at the strategy and policy through the lens of the villagers and localities that will produce and use bioenergy.•What role of bioenergy in the Climate Portfolio, in the Enegy Mix?

WHICH – Prioritise Sectors and applications•Priorities set influence which demand sectors and fuels will be emphasised•Example: significant forest resources may lead to emphasis on the heat and power sector; the presence of significant wood product industries, forested areas, and areas suitable for wood plantations to be explored under ‘Where”•Example: efficient stove programme can free wood resources for other uses – from traditional to modern biomass use•Domestic vs export•Example: Mauritius

LPG

Electricity

Kerosene

Buildings SectorEnd use: cooking

Woodfuel

Off Grid

Electric Power

PV SystemsStand Alone GeneratorsBiomass Gasifier & Engine

Grid

Imported

Coal-fired power plantCogenHydro

WHERE• Example: Mapping processes in Kenya, Uganda and Senegal

mapping and zoning Land Suitabilityo Agro-climatic:

Water BalanceTemperature

o Edaphic:Topography (altitude and slope)Soils

o Climate change outlook/ adaptation

Land availabilityo Environmental screening/ sensitivity

areaso PAoEcosystem servicesoWildlifeoHCVoLCV/degraded landoLand cover

Socialo Cultural / medicinal use areasoCurrent land use / Food/FodderoUrbanoConflictoArcheological oLand tenure

Infrastructure / logistics

Land Suitabilityo Agro-climatic:

Water BalanceTemperature

o Edaphic:Topography (altitude and slope)Soils

o Climate change outlook/ adaptation

Land availabilityo Environmental screening/ sensitivity

areaso PAoEcosystem servicesoWildlifeoHCVoLCV/degraded landoLand cover

Socialo Cultural / medicinal use areasoCurrent land use / Food/FodderoUrbanoConflictoArcheological oLand tenure

Infrastructure / logistics

• Building blocks for a solid mapping methodology

The level of detail (i.e. scale and accuracy) for each variable matters; and the optimal data is a decision between availability and cost.

• Data collection may present a particular challenge for developing countries.

• Data gaps have been identified, particularly regarding biodiversity. Information on PAs designated under the CBD and Wetlands under the Ramsar Convention is easily accessible.

A database or an assessment tool, such as IBAT, adapted to bioenergy planning would be useful.

HOW•ownership structures is codified in commercial law and registers•business models and land tenure rights•each of the three major schemes – concessions, contract farming, smallholder – comes with its own benefits and challenges

Implementation• Actions in relation to sectors and policies• Requires exchange bw different ministries

Implementation•Specific Support Mechanisms will draw on various operational aspects of the strategy: technology/ market/fiscal and organisational

• Are legal arrangements adequate to support government policies and targets for bioenergy? • Are there appropriate market regulations and incentives to boost production and consumption of bioenergy? • Have legislative measures been taken to ensure that cultivation of energy crops to produce biofuels does not have adverse impacts on food security? • Are social and environmental implications of competing land uses adequately addressed? • How can bioenergy legislation strengthen the legal framework applicable to deforestation, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions and introduction of alien species?

Implementation•Key questions that should be addressed as legislation is developed, refined and implemented, to ensure Policy Integration

• Rules for independent power production; • Feed in Tariffs• Blending mandates for use of biofuels in the transport sector; • Sustainability requirements for bioenergy; • Forest protection and rules for wood extraction in forests; • NAMAs• Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform• Limits or stipulations to land ownership • Licensing procedures

Implementation•Regulatory Options• Need to respect international conventions

Techno-economic background

Designing a strategy

Implementation and operation

Project screening

Land resources

People and processes

Deployment and good practices

Evaluating impacts

Standards

Sustainability assurance - an estimated 67 sustainability certification schemes operational / being developed. Need for convergence and cooperation between schemes.

Scope - feedstock specific, biofuels, bioenergy, biomaterials, agriculture and forestry Depth – EU RED compliant to comprehensive schemes following ISEAL guidance, and covering all three pillars of sustainability.The higher the standard, usually the higher the cost of compliance, but the higher also the gains – standards are also a management tool that reduces environmental and social as well as reputational risk.

Standards alone do not solve all the issues – national policy and planning needs to go hand in hand to address cumulative effects. Access to export markets / Contribution to national development. Considered in relation to Mandates / Licensing.

Quality assurance – product specifications

Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels

Developed in a multi-stakeholder process

Serves as management tool

Enables market access

12 Principles, covering comprehensively the different environmental and socio-economic concerns; goes beyond EU RED

LegalityPlanning, Monitoring and Continuous ImprovementGreenhouse Gas EmissionsHuman and Labor Rights

Rural and Social DevelopmentLocal Food SecurityConservationSoilWaterAirUse of Technology, Inputs, and Management of WasteLand Rights

24 indicators

18 themes

3 pillars

Lifecycle GHG emissions Productive capacity of land and ecosystems : soil quality, wood harvest levelsAir quality: non-GHG air pollutant emissionsWater availability, use efficiency and quality Biological diversity in the landscape Land-use change, including indirect effects

EnvironmentSocial Economic

Price and supply of a national food basketAccess to land, water and other natural resourcesLabour conditionsRural and social developmentAccess to energyHuman health and safety

Resource availability & use efficiencies in bioenergy production, conversion, distribution and end-useEconomic developmentEconomic viability & competitiveness of bioenergyAccess to technology and technological capabilitiesEnergy security

GBEP indicator 8: Land use and land-use change related to bioenergy feedstock production

• Total area of land for bioenergy feedstock production, and as compared to total national surface and agricultural and managed forest land area sense of the size of the role of bioenergy in national LU

• Percentages of bioenergy from yield increases, residues, wastes and degraded or contaminated land relates to bioenergy production that does not have dLUC

• Net annual rates of conversion between land-use types caused directly by bioenergy feedstock production, including the following (amongst others):

o arable land and permanent crops, permanent meadows and pastures, and managed forests;

o natural forests and grasslands, peatlands, and wetlands

relates to bioenergy feedstock production causing LUC, describing the patterns in LUC

GBEP indicator 5:Water use and efficiency

•Water withdrawn from nationally-determined watershed(s) for the production and processing of bioenergy feedstocks, expressed:

• as the percentage of total actual renewable water resources (TARWR) and

• as the percentage of total annual water withdrawals (TAWW), disaggregated into renewable and non-renewable water sources

•Volume of water withdrawn from nationally-determined watershed(s) used for the production and processing of bioenergy feedstocks per unit of bioenergy output, disaggregated into renewable and non-renewable water sources.

Water demand of bioenergy and how it compares to availability; efficiency in use; competing uses

Cumulative effects; threat to water bodies – scarcityBest practices to promote efficiencyIntegrated Water Management and Planning

Water Resource Management Water Policies

institutional and legal environment in which water is supplied and used.; e.g. water rights, collective action (e.g. water user associations that manage water allocation within irrigation systems as a group), privatization of utilities;

incentives to conserve water, including water pricing, water markets (e.g. tradable water use rights and water pollution trading), effluent charges);

water quotas, licenses and pollution controls (e.g. water standards);

investments in efficiency or conservation programmes, including rehabilitation and restoration of water infrastructure in all sectors.

Enabling conditions

Command and Control

Direct inter-ventions

Market-based incentives

Example 1 EU Water Framework Directive

WFD covers surface and groundwater, and uses a river basin approach. It mandates supporting river basin plans to be introduced in all Member States, deadlines for reaching “good ecological status” for all water, and sets emission limits and quality standards.

Implementation of the WFD strongly depends on the development of agriculture and land use, which is influenced by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and bioenergy-related policies.

Rural Development Regulation provides financial support, e.g. agro-environmental and agro-forestry payments, and farm investment support.

Perennial herbaceous and short rotation woody plants can lead to improved water quality. Hence, the integration of such plants into the agricultural landscape has been proposed to help achieve the WFD objectives.

Example 2National Water Act, South Africa

In the NWA of South Africa, the impacts of land use and land use change on the hydrological cycle and their potential impact on water resources are recognised.

Through ‘stream flow reduction activity’, “any activity … [that] … is likely to reduce the availability of water in a watercourse to the Reserve, to meet international obligations, or to other water users significantly”, the potential water use and likely impact of biofuel feedstock production needs to be assessed before permission is granted for production, incl . water use license.

Production of biofuel crops under irrigation is allowed only under exceptional circumstances by the Department of Minerals and Energy. Farmers with existing water use licenses cannot be prevented from converting their output from food/fodder crop production to biofuel feedstock production, but license applications for biofuel processing plants will not be approved if the plants are to receive irrigated feedstock. An industrial water tariff is considered, effectively charging much more than the usual subsidized agricultural tariff.

Take aways

Multi-stakeholder engagement processes from strategy to policy development and monitoring.

Policy coherence, across sectoral policies relevant to bioenergy such as agriculture, environment, forestry, industry and trade.

Policy integration. Bioenergy should be part of low carbon development strategies, and embedded in overall Energy Policy.

Bioenergy mandates and targets to based on bottom-up resource and demand assessments, and flanked by solid sustainability standards. Best to start with modest targets that can be increased over time, to provide longer-term visibility for investors.

Monitoring and review of policies – ensure effectiveness towards achieving the objectives. GBEP sustainability criteria. Get engaged!

Have a look at the DST website. Help us to make the DST a useful tool for you, indicate gaps and good practices. I is a Living document.

SE4All – triple goals; reduction of traditional biomass use to access to modern energy services – sustainable modern bioenergy can help make this energy transition! SDGs / post 2015 development agenda