At the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ministers and high-level officials from more than 100 countries met for an international conference on biofuels in Sao Paulo (Brazil). At this five-day event, which focused on an exchange of views about how to promote bioenergy production without putting at risk international food security or ecologically sensitive areas, the Federal Environment Ministry was represented by Jochen Flasbarth, head of the Directorate-General Nature Conservation.
Bioenergy plays an important role in Germany's Integrated Energy and Climate Programme. However, in order for biofuels to make a significant contribution to climate protection, they must be produced in a sustainable way. With regard to the environmental performance of biofuels, where energy crops are cultivated is decisive. Ethanol produced from Brazilian sugar cane, for example, has an excellent greenhouse gas record if grown on soils which were cultivated before. The positive record is reversed, however, if it is cultivated in savannahs or drives other land uses to these areas.
If crops are cultivated in the savannah it takes years to balance out the amount of greenhouse gases released by these soils. Bioenergy can be a model for sustainability if the right framework conditions are set - in particular to rule out a direct or indirect destruction of sensitive ecosystems. The Federal Environment Ministry therefore calls on the biofuel producing countries to open up to setting binding environmental and social standards. The sooner international standards for bioenergy are introduced, the easier it is to avoid undesirable developments. This is the best way to further advance the use of bioenergy.