Abstract

Bioenergy is critical to combat climate change, an ominous threat to life on earth as we know it. The strong political appeal of measures to combat climate change provides a unique opportunity for realizing the potential of sustainable bioenergy in Latin America, Caribbean and Africa via production, consumption and free international trade. This paper focuses on the development prospects of sustainable biofuels markets in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa - LACAf, regions with large potential to become global suppliers of biofuels, where 500–900 million hectares of land are available for bioenergy production while simultaneously enhancing food security and biodiversity. Biofuels markets are evolving fast and at rates higher than conventional fossil fuels. Currently, bioethanol and biodiesel provide about 3% of the world’s transportation fuels. In the most promising scenario, most of Latin American countries could implement at least E10. In Africa, ethanol could displace at least 15% of gasoline consumption. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is the method of choice used for sustainability certification. A Biofuture Platform was created to serve as a political and policy forum.

摘要

生物能源对于应对气候变化至关重要，正如我们所知，气候变化对地球上的生命构成不祥的威胁。应对气候变化措施的强烈政治吸引力为通过以下方式在拉丁美洲、加勒比和非洲实现可持续生物能源的潜力提供了独特的机会生产、消费和自由国际贸易。本文重点关注拉丁美洲和撒哈拉以南非洲地区可持续生物燃料市场的发展前景 - LACAf，这些地区具有成为全球生物燃料供应商的巨大潜力，这些地区有 500-9 亿公顷土地可用于生产生物能源，同时提高粮食产量安全和生物多样性。生物燃料市场发展迅速，速度高于传统化石燃料。目前，生物乙醇和生物柴油提供了全球约 3% 的运输燃料。在最有希望的情况下，大多数拉丁美洲国家至少可以实施 E10。在非洲，乙醇可以取代至少 15% 的汽油消费量。生命周期分析 (LCA) 是用于可持续性认证的首选方法。