More than a dozen of Israel’s top academic and industrial biofuels research scientists and innovators are in Washington to begin a week-long dialogue with their American counterparts at the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture, and the Navy, FAA and the private sector. They will be meeting with White House officials and with top government energy program managers and scientists in Washington, DC and at DOE labs in Oak Ridge Tennessee and in California. The scientific exchange, April 17th – 25th, has been designed to help build U.S.-Israel collaboration mechanisms for research and innovation to produce alternative fuels (“advanced biofuels”) that can substitute for petroleum-based gasoline, diesel oil and aviation fuel currently produced from imported oil.
Politics
Chatham House: UK biofuel policy may need to be modified
UK biofuel policy may need to be modified. To say it is a report published by Chatham House, a british think tank focused on “Costs and Consequences of Expanding Biofuel Use in the United Kingdom”. According to Rob Bailey, author of the report, “in its present form the RTFO (Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, editor’s note) may not be an appropriate instrument for achieving the RED (Renewable Energy Directive, editor’s note) target economically. Its volumetric target incentivizes suppliers to minimize cost per litre by supplying ethanol, thereby also minimizing the amount of energy supplied by biofuels. This runs counter to the objective of the RED to increase the share of energy from biofuels.
Un governo che guarda al futuro. Puntando sulla bioeconomia
Riuscirà l’Italia ad avere un governo? La missione sembra impossibile. Prima delle elezioni, paventando quanto poi si è avverato, ovvero l’ingovernabilità del paese, abbiamo anche espresso il sogno di avere come ministro dello Sviluppo economico, Catia Bastioli, Ceo di Novamont. Subito dopo la stessa Bastioli è stata inserita da Michele Santoro (questo ovviamente ci fa piacere) in un suo ipotetico governo di alto profilo. Il ministero che Santoro ha assegnato a Bastioli è quello dell’Ambiente. Il che fa emergere bene come la nostra visione dell’ambiente e della bioeconomia sia di traino dello sviluppo economico ma anche sociale del paese. Nel giochino del nuovo possibile governo si stanno cimentando un po’ tutti gli organi d’informazione.
Proviamo così anche noi de Il Bioeconomista a proporre un governo di alto profilo per il paese, che abbia nella propria agenda politica tra le priorità lo sviluppo della bioeconomia e dell’occupazione.
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Bioplastics: the Italian holistic approach to bioeconomy
Brussels spoke Italian last Wednesday. On the eve of the official presentation of the “Green paper on plastic waste” by the European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik, Kyoto Club presented on 6 March the European Parliament with “Bioplastics: A case study of Bioeconomy in Italy. A smart chemistry for a smarter life in a smarter planet”, a book – edited by Walter Ganapini – on the Italian experience of regulating the distribution of disposable plastic bags, in order to reduce environmental pollution.
The book presents the “Italian case” of bioeconomy, whose roots lie in the evolution of research and innovation in the biodegradable bioplastics sector on the one hand, and the virtuous development of the quality compost industry and separated municipal waste collection on the other. The connections between these two developments over the years have set in motion a whole series of virtuous modes of action and collaboration initiatives between various stakeholders (enterprises, institutions, research bodies, trade associations, consultancy companies and regional authorities) generating a connective tissue that is ideal to promote a change in the development model, putting the efficient use of resources at the centre.
Waiting for the elections, dreaming Bastioli as the next Minister of Economic Development
It’s not just because she shows great vision and strategic economic sense (read the interview with our journal in this regard). It’s not just because she knows how to reconcile economic growth, creation of new skilled jobs and environmental sustainability. It’s certainly not just because she is a woman in a country, Italy, where women find thousand obstacles to occupy top positions in the economy, academia and politics. It’s not only for these reasons but for sure these are enough to dream Catia Bastioli, the current Ceo of Novamont and chairwoman of the Kyoto Club Italy, as the next Italian Minister of Economic Development.
Geoghegan-Quinn da Dublino: ”Voglio una Europa alla guida non al seguito nella bioeconomia”
“Voglio una Europa alla guida e non al seguito nella bioeconomia”. Questo il messaggio che lancia da Dublino Màire Geoghegan-Quinn, la commissaria europea alla Ricerca, all’Innovazione e alla Scienza. In veste di padrona di casa nella sua Irlanda, Geoghegan-Quinn ha voluto sottolineare l’impegno della Commissione Barroso a sostenere in ogni ambito la realizzazione della bioeconomia, definita tout court “l’economia del ventunesimo secolo”, supportando l’implementazione di strategie a livello regionale e nazionale in tutto il Continente, ma soprattutto impegnandosi per un coordinamento e una maggiore coerenza delle politiche europee. In questo senso la conferenza sulla Bioeconomia di Dublino ha offerto l’occasione per lanciare l’Osservatorio sulla Bioeconomia, a cui verrà affidato il compito di monitorare quanto viene realizzato nei singoli paesi, oltre che di raccogliere dati sull’evoluzione dei diversi mercati di riferimento.
A Dublino si discute il futuro della Bioeconomia in Europa
È tutto pronto a Dublino per il via alla Conferenza degli stakeholders europei della bioeconomia (Bioeconomy in the EU: achievements and directions for the future – potete seguirla in diretta su Twitter @bioeconomista). Nella splendida cornice offerta dal castello che domina la capitale d’Irlanda, Istituzioni, imprese e centri di ricerca provenienti da ogni angolo del Vecchio Continente si confronteranno giovedì 14 e venerdì 15 febbraio sui prossimi passi da realizzare per mettere in atto la strategia per la bioeconomia lanciata lo scorso anno dalla Commissione europea.
Proprio a Dublino si festeggerà il primo anniversario della strategia, di cui principale protagonista è la commissaria alla Ricerca, Innovazione e Scienza, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, chiamata a fare da padrona di casa in coincidenza con la Presidenza irlandese dell’Unione europea.
Nasce il gruppo europeo dei leader dei carburanti sostenibili
Gli amministratori delegati di sette grandi aziende, tra produttori europei di biocarburanti e linee aeree, hanno lanciato oggi a Bruxelles una nuova iniziativa industriale per accelerare lo sviluppo in Europa dei biocarburanti sostenibili.
David Cameron pushes green energy
This is part of the text of David Cameron (UK’s Prime Minister)’s speech at the launch of DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change)’s energy efficiency mission
I want to tell you why I believe energy efficiency is so important. Yes of course it is a vital part of how we cut carbon emissions and continue to meet the ambitious targets set out in the Climate Change Act, which will allow us to meet growing energy demand in a way that protects the environment for our children, grandchildren and generations to come. Of course that is important, but my argument today is not just about doing what is right for our planet, but doing what is right for our economy too.
Danish BioRefining Alliance: “We need the EU to speed up and decide on a better regulation with targets for 2G biofuels”
“By having the first full scale 2G biorefinery (Mossi & Ghisolfi’s Biorefinery in Crescentino, editor’s note) I am convinced that Italy will play one of the important and leading roles in 2G bioeconomy on a European level. We hope very much that the next full scale plant will be in Denmark.The EU countries have a unique chance to be first movers and preferred partners in the future global bioeconomy”. To say it, in this interview, is Anne Grete Holmsgaard, the director of the BioRefining Alliance, the Danish partnership organization working to promote 2G biofuels and bioeconomy in Europe. Denmark has a leading role in the European bioeconomy. With Anne Grete Holmsgaard we talk about BioRefining Alliance, but especially bioeconomy and European policies to foster it. “We need – says the BioRefining Alliance’s director – the EU to speed up and decide on a better regulation with targets for 2G biofuels, which will give a very clear signal to investors.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
