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Land Transport Criteria Version 2
The Land Transport Criteria Version 2 establishes a framework for certifying green bonds in the transport sector, focusing on quantitative emissions thresholds and the exclusion of fossil-fuel-intensive assets. It prioritizes zero-direct-emissions vehicles and infrastructure, while setting specific benchmarks for passenger and freight transport to align with the Paris Agreement and the EU Taxonomy. The document details eligibility for various assets, including rail, road transport, and supporting infrastructure, while explicitly excluding biofuel vehicles and dedicated fossil fuel transport.
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Document type: Report
Putting a (Green) Thumb on the Scale: Decarbonizing the Transportation Sector Will Require Policies that Support Specific Technologies
The author contends that 'technology neutral' policies like the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) are insufficient because the transportation sector is not a level playing field; incumbent fuels benefit from existing infrastructure and conversion technologies. To achieve full decarbonization, the author recommends that Congress implement a zero carbon fuel standard with a carbon intensity requirement that declines to zero by mid-century and provide direct support for electricity and hydrogen-based fuels.
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Document type: Statement
Low-carbon transitions in West Sumatra, Indonesia: gender and equity dimensions
The document examines how renewable energy transitions in West Sumatra, Indonesia, can either entrench or challenge existing social inequities. Through case studies of geothermal, micro-hydro, and biofuel projects, it highlights how patriarchal land management and closed decision-making processes exclude women and marginalized groups from benefits. It also analyzes the limitations of national LPG subsidies and grid electrification in reaching the rural poor, concluding that a gender-sensitive approach is essential to ensure just transitions.
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Document type: Policy brief
Congress Should Support America’s Clean Energy Workers in the Face of Huge Job Losses
The statement highlights that nearly 600,000 clean energy jobs were lost by April 2020, with projections suggesting 850,000 workers would file for unemployment by June 30. It criticizes a $3 trillion House recovery package for offering no support to the wind and solar industries while providing cash assistance to biofuel producers.
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Document type: Statement
Fossil-free freight options for forest industries
The document outlines a collaborative project involving the Stockholm Environment Institute, Skogforsk, Einride, and various forest industry stakeholders to identify viable fossil-free transport alternatives for Swedish forest biomass and products. It highlights that forest transport accounts for approximately 25% of heavy truck work on Swedish roads, often utilizing vehicles weighing 64 tons or more. The project focuses on assessing novel battery-electric HGVs against state-of-the-art biofuel solutions, such as HVO100 and liquified biogas (LBG), across three primary use cases: direct transport from forests to industry, trans-shipment logistics, and internal industrial site movements. The evaluation will consider technological fit, full implementation costs, and lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions to recommend solutions for future piloting and demonstration.
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Document type: Briefing
CIEL statement on Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act
CIEL supports the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act as an emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis but criticizes its climate targets and fuel subsidies. While the Act requires airlines receiving stimulus funds to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% by 2035 and 50% by 2050, CIEL asserts that the United States and the world must reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through a complete transition from fossil fuels. Additionally, CIEL describes the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars to biofuels and waste-to-fuel processes as a "wasteful distraction".
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Document type: Statement
Assessing the gender and social equity dimensions of energy transitions
The report finds that low-carbon energy transitions do not automatically improve social equity and can replicate existing structural inequalities if power asymmetries are not addressed. While some technologies like household solar provide benefits, others—particularly large-scale hydropower and biofuel plantations—often lead to land loss, displacement, and precarious employment. The authors argue that institutional frameworks and participatory processes, rather than the technology itself, determine whether a transition is just.
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Document type: Report
Power and influence in the development of Thailand’s bioeconomy
The document examines the power dynamics within Thailand's bioeconomy, arguing that a Public-Private Partnership (Pracharath) model has concentrated influence among a few large corporations and government agencies. This structure prioritizes industrial growth and biofuel feedstocks like sugarcane and cassava, while marginalizing civil society, smallholder farmers, and government bodies focused on environmental and social protections.
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Document type: Briefing
Policy dialogue on a bioeconomy for sustainable development in Colombia
The report analyzes the bioeconomy landscape in Colombia, identifying a predominant 'bio-resources' vision that balances economic growth with environmental sustainability. Through a multi-stakeholder workshop, it explores sectoral visions for agriculture, biochemistry, bio-pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy, emphasizing the need for territorial development and the use of residual biomass. The document highlights critical sustainability gaps, including the risk of biodiversity loss if species are valued only for commercial advantage, the lack of formal land property rights for 60% of rural properties, and poor road infrastructure, with 75% of tertiary roads in poor condition. It concludes that a holistic, decentralized governance approach is necessary to align the bioeconomy with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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Document type: Report
High time the maritime sector sailed into the EU carbon market
The author advocates for the EU to integrate shipping into its carbon market through the EU ETS, combined with a dedicated decarbonization fund and a binding carbon intensity target. While acknowledging that the EU ETS alone is insufficient, the document suggests these combined measures would stimulate innovation and provide a global example for carbon pricing in shipping. The author warns against free pollution permits, offsetting, and funding for fuels that cannot be produced in climate-friendly ways, urging the EU to lead despite the slow pace of the International Maritime Organisation.
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Document type: Statement
Bioeconomy pathways at national and regional levels
The document traces the development of the bioeconomy concept from its roots in biotechnology and life sciences to a broader policy framework aimed at sustainability and climate goals. It highlights the EU's leadership in establishing bioeconomy strategies, which have influenced national policies globally. The text distinguishes between biotechnology-centered and transformation-centered approaches, while emphasizing that bio-based products are not inherently sustainable. It also discusses the rise of regional bioeconomy clusters and the need for participatory governance and life-cycle assessments to ensure genuine ecological benefits.
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Document type: Briefing
Policy brief: Policy support options for promoting Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in South Africa
The document argues that South Africa can achieve strategic goals—including preparing for ICAO's CORSIA framework, supporting its tourism sector against 'flight shame', and creating green jobs—by developing a domestic SAF industry. It identifies a wide range of policy tools such as blending mandates, financial incentives, and taxation. The brief proposes a phased roadmap for South Africa: short-term (2020-2025) focus on a 2-3% blending mandate and a long-term (beyond 2030) target to replace 50% of aviation fuel with locally produced SAF by 2050.
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Document type: Policy brief
Policy dialogue on a bioeconomy for sustainable development in Thailand
The report details a participatory workshop in Thailand where stakeholders from agriculture, biotechnology, and social science backgrounds developed three distinct visions for a sustainable bioeconomy. These visions range from an ecology-focused approach prioritizing farmer well-being and environmental sustainability to a technology-driven approach focused on R&D and economic growth. The analysis emphasizes the importance of public-private partnerships, regional ASEAN cooperation, and the specific cultural importance of rural development in the Thai context.
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Document type: Report
The 6th ASEAN Energy Outlook 2017-2040
The 6th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO6) projects that ASEAN's energy demand will grow significantly by 2040, driven by GDP and population growth. While the region currently relies heavily on fossil fuels, the report models four scenarios—Baseline, AMS Targets (ATS), APAEC Targets (APS), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)—to evaluate the impact of national and regional policies. The APS is the only scenario that meets the APAEC target of a 23% renewable energy share in total primary energy supply (TPES) by 2025. Key findings highlight the potential for solar PV growth, the necessity of improving air conditioner efficiency, the role of biofuels in transport, and the importance of the ASEAN Power Grid for regional integration. The report also emphasizes the social and environmental costs of continued fossil fuel reliance, noting that ambitious policies could sharply reduce GHG emissions and social costs.
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Document type: Report
CATF Statement on EPA’s Final 2020 RFS Biofuels Requirements
The Clean Air Task Force argues that the EPA's 2020 RFS regulations fail to meet the goals of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 by prioritizing food-based biofuels over advanced and cellulosic alternatives. The organization highlights that the 2020 mandate for advanced biofuels was reduced to 25% (5.04 billion gallons) and cellulosic biofuels to less than 3% (0.54 billion gallons) of a revised 20-billion-gallon total, leading to habitat loss and negative climate impacts.
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Document type: Statement
Electrification and the bioeconomy: three sides to the story
The document analyzes how the falling costs of variable renewable energy (VRE) and batteries impact the bioeconomy. It identifies competitive tensions in ground transport and power generation, where electrification may disrupt biofuel demand or create infrastructure lock-in. Conversely, it highlights complementary roles for biomass in 'hard-to-abate' sectors like aviation, marine transport, and heavy industry (steel and cement), as well as its value as a dispatchable energy source. In low-income countries, the brief suggests 'clean stacking' for cooking and the use of solar-powered appliances to enable bioeconomy value chains. Finally, it notes synergistic opportunities where low-cost renewable electricity can reduce the carbon footprint of biofuel production via electrolysis-based hydrogen.
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Document type: Policy brief
Electrificacion y bioeconomia: tres lados de la historia
The document examines the relationship between the bioeconomy—defined as sectors based on biomass production and processing—and the rapid growth of variable renewable energy (VRE) and electrification. It argues that while electrification competes with biofuels in some areas, such as road transport, it offers complementary and synergistic opportunities in others. For instance, biomass provides dispatchable power to balance VRE, and low-cost solar energy can enable critical infrastructure for agricultural bioeconomies in low-income countries. The text emphasizes that the bioeconomy should be designed to support and benefit from electrification to achieve deep decarbonization.
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Document type: Executive summary
Clean Fuels for the Midwest
The document advocates for a transition to cleaner transportation fuels in the US Midwest, highlighting the region's leadership in biofuels and wind energy. It proposes clean fuels standards as a mechanism to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation, promote higher ethanol blends, and accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).
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Document type: Fact sheet
Beyond Fossil Fuels: Fiscal Transition in BRICS
Brazil's economy is influenced by significant fossil fuel reserves, particularly 'pre-salt' oil, though it is the least dependent on fossil fuels among BRICS nations due to biofuels and hydropower. In 2017, fossil fuel revenues accounted for 6.8% of general government revenue, while subsidies represented 0.3% of GDP. The government continues to seek increased oil and gas production despite climate commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030. Fiscal complexities include high state-level VAT on fuels, significant tax exemptions for production, and the earmarking of royalties for health and education.
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Document type: Case study
Electrification and the bioeconomy: three sides to the story
The document examines how the bioeconomy interacts with the rise of cheap solar, wind, and battery technologies. It identifies competitive pressures in ground transport and power generation, complementary roles for bioenergy in aviation, marine transport, and heavy industry, and synergistic opportunities where electrification enables bioeconomy value chains and lower-carbon biofuel production.
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Document type: Briefing