National Biodiesel Board to establish Sustainability Task Force

The National Biodiesel Board said that it would establish Sustainability Task Force that will seek to develop solutions to questions that have been posed about the environmental benefits of biodiesel. NBB leadership said that they wish to establish consensus among the diverse group of biodiesel supporters on sustainability standards. They did not provide details on task force members, timelines, or specific goals.

The global drive to develop sustainable biofuels standards continues to pick up momentum. Last month in Europe, a consortium of 17 non-governmental organizations called on EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs to require sustainability standards for biofuel production or eliminate biofuels mandates.

The NGOs were responding to a draft biofuels mandate for the EU which will be finalized later this month and raises the use of biofuels to 10 percent of all fuels by 2020. The NGOs said that the plan did not fully address water shortage and deforestation issues. The NGOs called for a ban on the use of sugar cane, corn, and some varieties of canola and palm oils in biofuels production. The NGOs proposed threshold, that only feedstocks producing a minimum savings of 50 percent in CO2, has won significant support in the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, in Asia, groups such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil have been active in developing reports on sustainable feedstocks as well as promoting a sutainability standard.

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