Biomass: Key tradeoffs and opportunities in the SDGs. Ivonne Lobos Alva TMG Think Tank for Sustainability

Transcription

1 Biomass: Key tradeoffs and opportunities in the SDGs Ivonne Lobos Alva TMG Think Tank for Sustainability

2 This talk covers biomass (4Fs) 13 billion tonnes of biomass produced globally (2005) % food and feed 11 % bioenergy 7 % biomaterials (Wirsenius 2007) 590x/cotton jpg The ratio of biomass produced for feed and bioenergy is increasing 2

3 Trade-offs Opportunities Limited Resources Follow-up and Review Different Levels of Ambition (SDGs vs BAU) Contribute to Increasing Accountability Human Rights Issue Indicators! Supporting reviews 3

4 Biomass plays central role in achieving SDGs Competition between different biomass needs might lead to incoherent policies and serious implementation issues 4

5 The 2030 Agenda provides a framework for the necessary design of sustainable biomass production Principle of universality: Encourages importing countries to redesign their consumption patterns which creates incentives für producing countries Principle of Integration: Calls producing countries to account for the incorporation of all dimensions of sustainability and the implementation of participatory and inclusive processes 5

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7 S. Bringezu Are we on the right track? Mha 2600 Safe operating space 2400 Overshoot of safe operating space Safe operating space (1,640 Mha) BAU Gross Expansion BAU Net Expansion 1400 Historical Trend BAU expansion of global cropland compared to safe operating space 7

8 Gap under business as usual scenarios between the ambition set by the SDGs and the biomass and natural resources that are available to us Potential conflicts Need to review trade offs between the SDGs which calls for an integrated approach at national and global level in implementing the SDGs. 8

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10 Brazil and the Curse of Soy 10

11 Intensified biomass production may cause severe consequences Deforestation Disturbance of global carbon and nitrogen biochemical cycles ers/studentprojects/envi_133_spr_08/phosphorus/eutrophication.gif Changes in land use and ownership rights Food security hazards if biomass production is aimed at other purposes than food production Human rights violations Biodiversity loss Water quality and availability hazards Sustainable production and consumption of biomass that take social, economic and environmental challenges into account is of essential importance for an integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda 11

12 Opportunities Follow-up and review: SDGs force us to look at the interlinkages and discuss them Tracking Biomass Consumption Engage with the process: Assess GBEP indicators compared to SDG indicators Global thematic reviews under the umbrella of the High-level Political Forum to support an integrated perspective on the SDGs. At the national level, multi-actor approaches in finding ways to achieve the SDGs in their integrity. 12

13 Tracking Biomass Consumption: Scientific Underpinning for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda 13

14 Complex production and consumption patterns require that national policies of one country need to take effects on other countries into account 14

15 E.g. Germany: Increasing dependence on imported agricultural resources and products (such as soya or palm oil) policies need to take socio-economic and environmental consequences - ecological footprints - in producing countries into account 15

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17 Worldwide one third of harvest gets wasted, in Europe about one quarter Source: Gustavsson et al. for FAO (2011) 17

18 Further Strategies: Improve land use planning Invest in rehabilitating degraded soils (Land Degradation Neutrality) Improve diets and reduce waste Assess biofuel targets and biomaterials demand

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20 Trade-offs Opportunities Limited Resources Follow-up and Review Different levels of ambition (SDGs vs BAU) Contribute to Increasing Accountability Human rights issue Supporting reviews of progress 20

21 Open questions: 1. How to monitor the human rights dimension of the production of biomass for energy? 2. What is the role of women in sustainable biomass production? How is GBEP measuring this? 3. How do GBEP indicators live up to the principles and the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda? 21