Biofuture Platform

Bioenergy is the world’s largest source of renewable energy today. In most energy scenarios consistent with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, bioenergy plays a significantly expanded role. For instance, in the IEA Net Zero Emissions 2050 Roadmap, modern bioenergy use rises threefold by 2050, meeting almost 20% of total energy needs and becoming the second largest source of energy supply.

It also plays a critical role in some hard to abate sectors like aviation to reach net zero. However, bioenergy should be considered only as one component of a broader bioeconomy, where bio-based feedstocks are used to produce high-value products that substitute for more carbon-intensive chemicals and materials such as plastics, concrete, steel and aluminium. In addition, an expanded bioeconomy provides opportunities to incentivise improved land management while helping countries deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Biofuture Platform Initiative (BfPI) was launched at the 11th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM11) to lead global actions to accelerate the development, scale-up and deployment of sustainable bio-based alternatives to fossil-based fuels, chemicals and materials.

The initiative, chaired by the US Department of Energy and coordinated by the International Energy Agency, provides a forum for policy dialogue and collaboration among leading countries, organisations, academia and the private sector.

Strategic goals of the Biofuture Platform Initaitive are to:

1. Foster consensus on biomass sustainability, availability and governance.
2. Promote policy best practices and convergence
3. Enable supportive financing mechanisms.
4. Promote cooperation on policy, regulation and technology.

Partners include key organisations such as the IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the Global Bioenergy Partnership. Furthermore, BfPI works closely with other CEM/MI initiatives including those focusing on innovation, biorefineries, hydrogen and carbon capture.

BfPI was built upon the Biofuture Platform, a 22-country effort established in 2016 under the leadership of the Government of Brazil to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon, global bioeconomy.