Bioeconomy | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Project

Promoting Stakeholder Engagement and Public Awareness for a Participative Governance of the European Bioeconomy (BioSTEP)

March 2015 to February 2018

The bioeconomy holds potential solutions to important challenges of the future. The social, economic and environmental impacts associated with its products and processes, however, will require extensive dialogue processes on the future development of the bioeconomy. Coordinated by Ecologic Institute, the BioSTEP project aims at promoting stakeholder engagement and public awareness for a participative governance of the European bioeconomy.Read more

Publication

Bioökonomie und Landkonflikte

Genug Land für alle(s)?

In times of conflicting environmental objectives, the bioeconomy has evolved as one of the most contested fields in resource and climate policies. This article by Timo Kaphengst and Stephanie Wunder stresses the overall scarcity of land as a significant obstacle for further expansion of biomass production for the bioeconomy. The authors argue for a more demand-driven strategy to alleviate stress on land ecosystems. The article is available for download.Read more

Publication

Towards a Definition of Global Sustainable Land Use?

A discussion on theory, concepts and implications for governance

In this discussion paper Timo Kaphengst from Ecologic Institute approaches the question of how sustainable land use can be defined at a global scale. The paper thereby contributes to the concept of sustainable land use governance currently developed in the GLOBALANDS project. The discussion paper is available for download.Read more

Event

GLOBALANDS: Global Land Use Governance - First International Workshop

TimeLoc

27 May 2013

Berlin

Germany

The GLOBALANDS project has taken major steps forward. On 27 May 2013, the first international expert workshop took place at the Ecologic Institute in Berlin. With inputs from high-level experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Commission, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) and others, the participants discussed the status and perspectives of sustainable land...Read more

Presentation

Speech

Bioeconomy

Sustainability

Biofuels at a Dead End or Part of the German "Energiewende"? Policy, Actors and Discourses from a European Perspective.

TimeLoc

19 April 2013

Berlin

Germany

Timo Kaphengst

"Fair Fuels" is a socio-ecological research project (SÖF), which over the past four years has addressed the question of whether biofuels can be produced and used in a socioecologically compatible manner. The project also looked at the socioecological impacts that derive from present production and promotion. At its final conference on 19 April 2013 in Berlin, Timo Kaphengst gave a presentation on the European biofuels policy and the discourse about the criteria for sustainable biofuel production. The presentation is available for download.

The main topic of the final conference wasRead more

Presentation

Energy Efficiency of Buildings

TimeLoc

2 August 2012

Washington

United States

Dominic Marcellino

On August 2, 2012, Dominic Marcellino, Fellow at Ecologic Institute DC, spoke at the "Net-Zero House Symposium", where he presented research results regarding the energy efficiency of buildings. The Net-Zero House Symposium in DC was a half-day discussion event on the building and promotion of net-zero and highly energy efficient buildings.

In total, three speakers presented the current research work of their respective organizations in building energy efficiency. Dominic Marcellino focusedRead more

Project

Global Land Use and Sustainability (GLOBALANDS)

September 2011 to June 2014

August 2012 to June 2015

The pressure on land and natural resources is increasing worldwide. While there are many sectoral policies tackling different environmental problems, land use is not regulated in an integrated and overarching way. The discussion on sustainable biofuels and biomass highlights the continued lack of an effective and innovative framework to deal with complex land-use issues. The aim of the GLOBALANDS project is to identify existing land use policies and develop possible governance tools towards a more resource efficient and sustainable global land use.Read more

Presentation

Freshwater Impacts of Proposed Biofuel Policy in Germany

TimeLoc

6 July 2012

Suzhou

China

Andrew Ayres

On 6 July 2012, Andrew Ayres of Ecologic Institute presented a paper on water management and expanded biofuel use at the Fourth International Conference on Applied Energy in Suzhou, China. The paper, entitled "Germany’s Water Footprint of Transport Fuels," details how the water footprint indicator can be used to estimate the water resource use necessary to produce fuels in Germany under the requirements of the EU Biofuels Directive. The presentation is available for download.

At the conference, Andrew Ayres explained how previous estimates of the water footprint of Germany’sRead more

Publication

The Social Dimension of EU Biofuel Policy

In the early 2000s, biofuels were seen as a panacea for several environmental and economic challenges. In more recent years, however, their promotion has faded substantially. With the ongoing expansion of biofuel production worldwide, serious doubts have been raised about their sustainability and potential to reach environmental targets. This Ecologic Brief provides an assessment of the extent to which social aspects of biofuel production are addressed in current EU policies. It also explores possible ways of enhancing, reshaping, or extending existing policies in order to ensure the sustainable production of biofuels. The Ecologic Brief is available for download.Read more

Publication

Report

Bioeconomy

International Development

Impact of EU Bioenergy Policy on Developing Countries

In order to meet its renewable energy targets by 2020, the EU is likely to increase its demand for biomass, not only for biofuel crops but also for woody biomass. A significant portion of this biomass will likely come from developing countries, particularly those in West and Central Africa, as well as Latin American countries. This demand can have significant negative impacts in these developing regions, including environmental degradation and threats to food security. In this brief for the European Parliament, researchers at Ecologic Institute (Stefanie Wunder, Timo Kaphengst, Krista Timeus and Kristine Berzins) analyze some of those main impacts, focusing particularly on woody biomass. The study is available for download.Read more