March 30-31, 2009
Westin Washington, D.C. City Center Hotel
Trade and policy issues in the global bioeconomy were examined at the conference, Transition to a Bioeconomy: Global Trade Issues, March 30-31, 2009, at the Westin City Center Hotel, Washington, D.C. This conference was a collaboration of Farm Foundation, USDA's Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, and USDA's Economic Research Service. 
The conference featured policy makers, energy industry representatives and academics addressing global energy markets, trade in energy technologies, and the interactions of energy policies, food systems and global trade. A panel of industry leaders provided perspectives on the future of energy and public policies. Presentations from conference speakers are posted below. Link to briefings of the conference discussions, or the Executive Summary.
By their very nature, most current bioenergy policies worldwide have a domestic, rather than a global orientation. These policies are often protectionist in nature, reflecting the importance of energy security to individual nations. Such policies have the potential to generate global trade friction. As the global bioeconomy continues to evolve, increasing attention will need to be paid to the impact of bioenergy policies on trade and trade policy.
This is the fourth conference in the Transition to a Bioeconomy series. These conferences are designed to improve understanding of the evolving bioeconomy by providing an inventory of current knowledge and identifying challenges and opportunities in the future. Presentations and proceedings are available for the previous conferences in the series:
The last conference in the Transition to a Bioeconomy series, will focus on tools for Extension. It will be June 30-July 1 in Little Rock, Ark.
Transition to a Bioeconomy: Global Trade and Policy Issues
The Global Energy Market
2009 Global Energy Outlook
Michael Schaal, U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
2009 Policy Options for the United States and European Union
Wallace Tyner, Purdue University
ATechnical Global Biofuels Analysis
Thomas Alfstad, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Outlook for Energy Alternatives
John Reilly, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Paper
Food Systems and Energy Policies
How global energy policies impact poverty
Tom Hertel, Purdue University
How Ethanol May Reshape Global Meat Trading Patterns
Al Mussell, George Morris Centre, University of Guelph
Global Impacts of Biofuels Policies
Impacts of EU Mandates for Renewable Energy
Laurent Javaudin, Delegation of the European Commission to the United States
Gasoline, OPEC and the Optimal Export Tax Paradigm
David Zilberman, University of California, Berkley
Context-Dependent Trade Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policies
Seth Meyer, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute
Industry Perspectives on the Future of Energy and Public Policies
Panel members:
Joel Velasco, Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association
Paul Willems, BP Energy Biosciences Institute
Mark Willers, Minwind Energy
Manning Feraci, National Biodiesel Board
Trade in Energy Technologies
Commercializing Gasification/Fermentation Technology
Mark Dietzen, INEOS Bio
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