UBC hosting IEA Bioenergy – BioFuelNet workshops

The first workshop on Sept. 21 is titled: Landscape Management and Design for Bioenergy and the Bioeconomy. The second workshop on Sept. 22 is called: Mobilisation of of Forest Biomass to Produce Bioenergy, Biofuels and Bioproducts: Challenges and Opportunities.

Registration for both workshops closes Sept. 9. 

Full descriptions:

Workshop 1: Landscape Management and Design for Bioenergy and the Bioeconomy.

With increasing demand for land, often with competing interests, there is a need for improved understanding – and promotion – of biomass production in landscapes that generate multiple ecosystem services and support biodiversity. Governance of land use and other activities shaping our landscapes requires methods to assess impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. A multitude of approaches exist that address biodiversity and ecosystem services on different spatial and temporal scales. This diversity is important for advancing science and knowledge, but can create difficulties in situations where governance agreements are to be made. The advancement of science and knowledge needs to be managed in parallel with processes informing governance based on the current state of knowledge. This is a challenging task, which can be supported through structured information exchange and collaboration engaging researchers and other actors involved with landscape governance.

Description:
IEA Bioenergy Task 43 organizes a workshop to highlight research and other activities relating to Landscape management and design for bioenergy and the bioeconomy, in collaboration with BioFuelNet, an integrated community of academic researchers, industry partners and government representatives in Canada who engage in collaborative initiatives to accelerate the development of sustainable advanced biofuels. The workshop will take place on September 21 at the campus of University of British Colombia in Vancouver, Canada.

Workshop participants will have the opportunity to share views and experiences and, in this way, provide a basis for identifying challenges and opportunities related to landscape management and design. A workshop outcome report is planned, which will summarize important concerns, knowledge gaps and research questions that should be followed up in subsequent activities.

The workshop will provide an important basis for the planning of Task 43 activities in 2017-2018. The workshop will in this way be a good opportunity to network and develop collaborations, and to identify options for engagement in coming activities within Task 43 and BioFuelNet.

Proposals for presentations are welcome and can be sent to Biljana Kulisic (bkulisic@eihp.hr): a limited number of presentations will be invited and most of the time will be dedicated to discussion sessions.

Workshop agenda and additional information will be sent out to workshop participants after the September 9 deadline.

Workshop 2: Mobilisation of of Forest Biomass to Produce Bioenergy, Biofuels and Bioproducts: Challenges and Opportunities.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reviewed global energy scenarios in the context of CO2 stabilization, and reported that by 2050, bioenergy (in replacement of fossil fuels) should provide 80-150 Exajoules (EJ) per year to keep CO2eq concentration at about 440–600 ppm, and from 118 to 190 EJ for less than 440 ppm CO2eq concentration. The technical global potential of forest biomass alone could reach 100 EJ. Thus, forest bioenergy feedstocks are set to play a significant role in modern bioenergy production for climate change mitigation. To indicate magnitudes, 100 EJ roughly corresponds to 7.3 X 109 m3 of wood (more than double the current amount of wood harvesting in the world). To reach these levels of forest biomass mobilization, innovative solutions and technological transfer will be needed.

Description:
This event aims to bring together stakeholders from different countries to identify and discuss opportunities, challenges, best practices and knowledge gaps in the area of forest biomass mobilization for the sustainable production of bioenergy (including liquid fuels) and bioproducts. The workshop will be built around presenting real case studies concerning the deployment and the development of forest biomass supply chains. These case studies will be selected to cover a range of geographic regions, feedstocks, end-products and the maturity of project development, and a plenary discussion defining/highlighting the critical challenges, opportunities, and best practices.

The workshop will provide the material for drafting a report on best practices and recommendations for mobilization of forest biomass, to be published jointly by BioFuelNet and IEA Bioenergy.

Proposals for presentations are welcome and can be sent to Biljana Kulisic (bkulisic@eihp.hr): a limited number of presentations will be invited and most of the time will be dedicated to discussion sessions.

Workshop agenda and additional information will be sent out to workshop participants after the September 9 deadline.