June 2005; updated September 2005

Working Session on Land Use and Bioenergy in
the Clean Development Mechanism

30 June 2005
FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy

Rationale

The Kyoto/Marrakech agreement provides for inclusion of Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) activities in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), limited to afforestation and reforestation projects, and also for inclusion of energy-related projects, to the extent that they reduce emissions from fossil fuels. However, the agreement fails to recognize the interlinkages between land use and a key energy source for many developing countries, biomass energy. Negotiations focused on constraining LULUCF and dealing with permanence, leading to at least two problems:

• It was and still is often assumed that bioenergy and other renewable energy sources are always eligible under the CDM. However, this is only the case when emissions from fossil fuels, or other emissions included in Annex A of the Kyoto Protocol are part of the baseline. The replacement of unsustainable biomass use with modern biomass fuels, or with other renewables such as wind energy or solar, is not eligible as a CDM activity as demonstrated in a recent submission by FAO and IEA Bioenergy to the CDM Executive Board.



• Projects that combine afforestation/reforestation with the use of biomass to displace fossil fuels are subject to an additional barrier by having to submit two baseline and monitoring methodologies, two Project Design Documents, and having to undergo the CDM screening process twice.

Objectives of the Working Session

The purpose of the Working Session is to assess the above-mentioned issues, illustrate them with case studies, and propose solutions on how reductions of unsustainable bioenergy use in the CDM can be made eligible in the CDM. This will include a discussion of options on how land use and bioenergy could be better included under the Kyoto Protocol and subsequent climate agreements.

In particular, the Working Session will elaborate suggestions on how to address the definition of sustainable (or renewable) versus unsustainable (or non-renewable) biomass, will discuss existing cases and/or types of sustainable land-use/bioenergy systems and will identify necessary steps to reach their eligibility in the CDM.

Agenda

Morning: 09.00 – 12.30, 30-minute coffee break: 7 presentations, each 15 mins. + 10 mins. discussion

• B. Schlamadinger, Joanneum Research, Reducing the use of non-renewable biomass: an eligible CDM project category? (PDF, 252 KB)



• R.Drigo, I. Juergens, M. Trossero. Wood Energy Systems and CDM: A contribution to the analysis of baseline and project conditions (PDF, 208 KB)



• Jonathan Avis, Ecosecurities, Household Bioenergy Projects and the Clean Development Mechanism (PDF, 50 KB)



• B. Utria, World Bank, Advancing Modern Bioenergy: Poverty Alleviation, Land Use and Environmental Sustainability in Africa (PDF, 332 KB)



• B. Bosquet, World Bank, Outreach in Favor of LULUCF (PDF, 164 KB).



• R. Tippmann, EcoSecurities, Emissions Reducing Bioenergy Technology - A Project Concept for Rural Households and a CDM Small-Scale Project in Progres (PDF, 96 KB)s
  

Afternoon: 13.30 – 17.00, 30-minute coffee break

Group discussion and elaboration of an Outline for a Technical Working Group Paper. Issues to be discussed:

• Ways of improving the inclusion of traditional biomass in the CDM
  • Amending the KP / MA
  • Through “small-scale” rules
  • Post 2012: through increased inclusion of land-use activities.



• Methodological issues (e.g. how to determine the degree of sustainability of biomass energy).



• Next steps, e.g. strategy to inform decision-makers, G8, etc.

The working session materials (background papers, PowerPoint presentations) will be made available on the FAO Web site, IEA Bioenergy Task38 Web site, the ENCOFOR Web site, and a statement to be circulated widely. A press release was issued by FAO in the name of the co-organizers.

Target audience

Experts, policy-makers, participants from developing countries; approx. 30 participants

Date and venue

30 June 2005, Rome (FAO headquarters), before the G8 summit which has Africa, climate change and illegal logging as key topics (6-8 July 2005 in Perthshire, Scotland www.g8.uk.gov).

For more information, please contact Bernhard.Schlamadinger@joanneum.at or Ingmar.juergens@fao.org