16 March 2010: The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) convented the seventh meeting its Task Force on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Methodologies in The Hague, the Netherlands. The meeting discussed possible improvements to the GBEP’s “Version Zero” of the “GBEP Common Methodological Framework for GHG Lifecycle Analysis of Bioenergy,” released in June 2009.
The aim of the GBEP Common Methodological Framework for GHG Lifecycle Analysis of Bioenergy is to create a framework to compare life-cycle methodologies for policy makers around the world. Participants’ presentations overviewed the taskforce’s work to date, discussed suggestions and comments on the Version Zero received thus far, and outlined the US Environmental Protection Agency’s new Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS2) Lifecycle Analysis (LCA). The meeting concluded by discussing how to further improve the common methodological framework and participants agreed on a tentative timeline towards a Version One of the framework, to be rolled out by Spring 2011.
The GBEP was launched in January 2007, in response to the July 2005 Gleneagles Plan of Action of the G8 +5 (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa), which called for launching “a Global Bioenergy Partnership to support wider, cost effective, biomass and biofuels deployment, particularly in developing countries where biomass use is prevalent.” Its partners consist of 19 national governments, ten international organizations, with an additional 23 governments and seven organizations acting as observers. A representative from UNEP attended the meeting. [Meeting Website]