2022 GBEP Bioenergy Week in Paraguay - The ninth of a series of GBEP Bioenergy Weeks since 2013

The event was organized by the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIC) of the Government of Paraguay, along with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and with the generous support of the U.S. Grains Council. The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) also highly contributed by leading important thematic sessions. The event took place in Asunción, Paraguay, from 26 to 29 September 2022. It was a three-day conference followed by a field visit at the INPASA biofuel plant in Guayaibi on the fourth day.  Approximately 110 representatives participated in person and about 50/60 connected online every day, with representatives from more than 20 different countries and more than 30 different international organizations, institutions and companies from all over the world.

Prominent and high-ranking speakers representing Governments, United Nations, International Organizations, research institutions, private sector and investors from all over the world, discussed the status of the bioenergy sector in the Americas focusing on good practices in the sustainable production and use of bioenergy, with a view to guide the design and implementation of bioenergy policies in the continent and to improve cooperation with private sector and other relevant stakeholders. 

The Conference was opened by Mr Santiago Moisés Bertoni, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of the Government of Paraguay that recalled how much bioenergy has been used in Paraguay in the last more than 23 years, and that the current biofuels share is of 25% in the energy mix, including fossil fuels. Mr Bertoni also highlighted the current work of the government to increase the production of biofuels, so that sustainable agriculture could bring multiple positive benefits, including in terms of fighting climate change. 

Mr Luis Alberto Castiglioni, Minister of Industry and Trade of Paraguay, stressed the role of the Ministry in the national process for the development of a sustainable economy, with high considerations in terms of impacts on climate and the environment. He particularly mentioned the 20-year-old initiative to mix bioethanol with gasoline that reached the share of 25% of bioethanol in the mix nowadays. 

The FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mr. Mario Lubetkin, emphasized the importance of the event in strengthening cooperation and dialogue at various levels towards a more sustainable production and use of bioenergy to further the global goal of sustainable energy development for all and the sustainable development goals.  

The Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil,  Amb. Jose Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho and Ms Emily Marthaler from the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded the opening panel with their welcome speeches, as GBEP co-chairs. Amb. Carvalho reminded participants that access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy is a key driver of socioeconomic development, well reflected in SDG 7. "According to projections of the International Energy Agency, the world use of modern bioenergy has to double by 2030 and even triple in the transport sector, if we want to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C", emphasized the Ambassador.  

This Bioenergy Week was an excellent example of concrete willingness to work together in partnership to further the global goal of sustainable energy development for all and the sustainable development goals.

Working documents, recording and outcomes of the event are available on request.

More on this topic

GBEP has been holding the GBEP Bioenergy Weeks since 2013, with the first one held in Brazil, followed by the second in Mozambique in 2014, the third edition in Indonesia in 2015, and the fourth Bioenergy Week in Budapest in June 2016. The GBEP Working Group on Capacity Building (WGCB), under the co-leadership of ECOWAS and Argentina, have stressed the enormous added value of this first cycle of regional events in terms of capacity building and information sharing, and expressed the willingness and need to continue this activity with a second cycle of regional Bioenergy Weeks. As such, the fifth Bioenergy Week was held in the ECOWAS region, in Ghana in 2017, and the sixth in Argentina in 2018.

Report

Building capacity in Paraguay and Viet Nam

The GBEP indicators were implemented in Paraguay and Viet Nam under the project “Building Capacity for enhancing bioenergy sustainability through the use of GBEP indicators”. 

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