It is our pleasure to invite you to the Asia Oceania Convention- Global Sustainability Bioenergy Project 2010 which will be hosted by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia on 14 - 16 June 2010. This is the 4th series of 5 continental conventions aiming to provide guidance on the feasibility of sustainable bioenergy production on a large scale as well as implementation paths and policies that foster this outcome.

Project Scope

       GSB proposes a global analysis of the feasibility of large-scale bioenergy production. This analysis would be undertaken with strong international participation in order to inform the analysis, foster buy-in among international thought leaders, and effectively disseminate the results to policymakers and the public. Assembling an appropriate team is a substantial endeavor, and the additional substantial endeavor of developing the project plan and obtaining monetary support would be best done with participation of the team.

       To allow the project to build momentum over time, and so that each step of the project is justified by smaller, prerequisite steps, it is proposed to proceed in three stages:

1. Hold continental conventions at several international locations, refine our question, form a team, develop a project plan, and recruit support for stage 2.
2. Answer the question: Is it physically possible for bioenergy to meet a substantial fraction of future world mobility and/or electricity demand while our global society also meets other important needs: feeding humanity, providing fiber, maintaining and where possible improving soil fertility, air and water quality, biodiversity and wildlife habitat, and achieving very large greenhouse gas emission reductions that are not substantially negated by land use changes?
3. Broaden the analysis to address additional issues.

       In trying to answer the defining question for stage 2, we will look for complimentary combinations of key variables (mature conversion technology and feedstock production technologies, integration of feedstock production into agriculture, alternative food production strategies, and demand reduction through increased utilization efficiency) in conjunction with established models for key constraining factors (population, climate, water availability, soil fertility, modernization of the developing world). The wording of question 2) reflects the best efforts of the steering committee to pose a question responsive to the goals of the project that is both useful and practical. While we think the scope and integrated challenge captured in the question is critical, are open to refining the wording based on input received during stage 1.

       Given a positive result from stages 1 and 2, the analysis will be broadened in stage 3 to include:

• Transition paths
• Enabling policies
• Economics
• Ethical and equity issues
• Local-scale analysis to validate and exemplify the vision developed in stage 2
• Rural economic development aspects
• Consequences for developing nations
• Commercialization
• Other important considerations identified in the course of the project

       This stage will emerge out of stage 2, with additional participants recruited as needed in response to the needs to the project.

       The focus of the GSB project is different from that of the many others worthy initiatives in the bioenergy field. Rather than focusing on what is most probable, the GSB project is focused on what is most desirable. Rather than reflecting often sharply divided expert opinion, the GSB project seeks to build new understanding and consensus. Rather than having the present as a point of reference, the point of reference for the GSB project is a vision for the future. Stage 2 seeks to determine with unprecedented openness to change, breadth of international involvement, and technical detail whether it is possible to gracefully reconcile large scale bioenergy production with other priorities. Results from stage 2 will motivate, inform, and provide a distinctive context for a multidimensional analysis of transition paths and policies undertaken in Stage 3. When completed, the GSB project will provide critical guidance toward the overall feasibility of a sustainable, bioenergy-intensive future and will define policy and land use trajectories that foster this outcome.

Who should come

• Persons with expertise relevant to carrying out stage 2 and stage 3 analyses. This includes expertise in technical and scientific fields such as agriculture, energy crop development and production, soil science, water quality, climate, global information systems, demand forecasting, policy analysis, economics, rural development, culture, ethics, and equity.
• Policy makers who make decisions impacting renewable energy and bioenergy.
• Stakeholders whose interests, or the interests of those they represent, are impacted by the perceived merit of biofuels and/or would be impacted by greatly expanded production of sustainable bioenergy.

       All those who are interested and willing to help to realise a sustainable future. We really hope that you will contribute to this ambitious project and that we may welcome you in Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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