Standard

The Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme is a labelling scheme for Entities, Assets and Debt Instruments. Rigorous scientific criteria ensure that Certified investments in climate mitigation are consistent with the 1.5owarming limit in the Paris Agreement. The Scheme is used globally by bond issuers, governments, investors and the financial markets to prioritise investments which genuinely contribute to addressing climate change.

Bioenergy

 

Resources:
1. Bioenergy Brochure

2. Bioenergy Criteria

2.1. เกณฑ์ภาคพลังงานชีวภาพ ภายใต้มาตรฐานตราสารหนี้ว่าด้วยการเปลี่ยนแปลงสภาพภูมิอากาศ (Thai)

3. Bioenergy background paper

 

Climate Bonds Standard V3.0
 

Timeline of Development:

August 2022: Rev 1.3 Bioenergy Storage now explicitly within scope as supporting infrastructure

March 2021: Rev 1.2 CBI Agriculture criteria now listed in best practices for feedstocks.  

July 2020: Rev 1.1 released with minor edit to table 2 replacing 'bioenergy' with 'electricity'

July 2019: Bioenergy Criteria Phase 1 released.    

May 2018: Bioenergy Criteria public consultation          

Status: The Bioenergy and Biofuel Criteria Document Part 1 of 2 has been released. These Criteria cover bioenergy (including biofuel) projects excluding those using woody biomass or solely generating electricity. Get in contact with certification@climatebonds.net(link sends e-mail)to start the certification process of your bioenergy green bond.

Financial instruments (bonds and loans) linked to these eligible assets, activities and entities will be aligned with the Paris Agreement and the goal of keeping global temperature rises to no more than 1.5oabove pre-industrial levels.

Bioenergy Criteria Webinar

The Goal 
An expanded role of bioenergy is required for the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy. However, bioenergy can also generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions duing feedstock production and processing, transport and distribution; and have impacts on the resilience of the ecosystem to climate change through changes to water quality, biodiversity and soil carbon, etc.

To address these issues and to identify low carbon and climate resilient bioenergy investments, the Climate Bonds Initiative has launched the Bioenergy Technical Working Group (TWG) to develop Eligibility Criteria for assets in the bioenergy sector under the Climate Bond Standard. ​

The Criteria
The Bioenergy and Biofuel Criteria lay out the requirements that bioenergy assets and/or projects must meet to be eligible for inclusion in a Certified Climate Bond. The Criteria apply to a variety of bioenergy assets and projects including facilities producing biofuel/biomass for electricity, heating/cooling and transport; energy generation facilities including electricity, heating/cooling and cogeneration facilities; and dedicated supporting infrastructure.

The Bioenergy and Biofuel Criteria contain both Mitigation Requirements and Adaptation & Resilience Requirements:

 

How the Bioenergy and Biofuel Criteria were developed

The Climate Bonds Initiative has convened experts from academia, international agencies, industry and NGOs​ in bioenergy sector and established the Bioenergy Technical Working Group (TWG). The TWG met monthly to discuss and adivise on the development of bioenergy criteria, covering issues regarding climate mitigation and adaptation, and other environmental impacts in bioenergy sector.

After the TWG finished their discussions and proposed draft Bioenergy and Biofuel Criteria, a Bioenergy Industry Working Group (Bioenergy IWG) consisting of potential green bond issuers, investors, financial intermediaries and verifiers was set up to advise and review the draft Criteria being developed by the TWG, test the practicality of the Criteria and providing recommendations for further improvement. 

After the Bioenergy IWG review, the Criteria were released to the market for public consultation. Once feedback had been incorporated, the Criteria was submitted to the Climate Bonds Standard Board for approval. Once approved, the Criteria were first published in July 2019 allowing certification of bioenergy-related investments under the Climate Bonds Standard.

Bioenergy Technical Working Group (TWG)

E4Tech
Dr. Ausilio Bauen
Director

National Wildlife Federation
Barbara Bramble​
Vice President, International Conservation and Corporate Strategies

Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Aziz Elbehri

Senior Economist, Trade and Markets Division 

Utrecht University
Dr Birka Wicke
​​Assistant Professor
Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development - Energy & Resource

The University of British Columbia
Jack (John) N Saddler​
Professor, Department of Wood Science

Accreditation Services International​
László Máthé
Accreditation Program Manager and Lead Author 

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Molly Jahn​
Professor

International Institute for Sustainability Analysis and Strategy​
Uwe R. Fritsche
Scientific Director

VITO
Luc Pelkmans
Project Manager Bioenergy & Biomass 

Spatial Informatics Group (SIG) ​
Dr Thomas Buchholz
Forest and Agriculture

Arise International
Shay Reza
Co-Founder​

 

 

 

Bioenergy Industry Working Group (IWG)

Artur Yabe Milanez, BNDES Brad C. Friedman, Ramirez & Co., Inc.
Bryan Sherbacow, AltAir Fuels Christian Carraretto, EBRD
Cindy Thyfault, Wester Trade Resources  David Fairchild, Bureau Veritas UK
David Kemp, M&G Investment Derek Ip, S&P Trucost
Dimitri Koufos, EBRD Elena Schmidt, Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials
Gerard J.Ostheimer, SEforALL Mark Robinson, DNV GL
Matthew Brander, University of Edinburgh Melanie Eddis, ERM
Michael Brown, Ryze Capital Partners Michael Burns, Novozymes
Mike Cao, Shanghai Mu Yi Investment Advisors Ltd Monica Reid, Kestrel Consulting
Nikos Ntavos, Cluster of Bioenergy & Environment of Western Macedonia Paul Curtis-Hayward, Guy Butler Limited
Terri Smalinsky, Ziegler Investment Banking Wenqin Lu, CECEP 
Dr Richard Mills​, Strategy Director, Boeing UK  
 
 
Each sector-specific eligibility criteria are developed along a set process. This ensures we create robust sceince-backed criteria that are useable in the market:
 
Note, Criteria for projects relating solely to electricity generation or using woody biomass residues were planning to be developed, but this work will no longer go ahead due to concerns about woody biomass. 
 

Disclaimer: 

"The Climate Bonds Standard Board operates legally as an advisory committee of the Climate Bonds Initiative Board and oversees the development of the Climate Bonds Standard. Neither the Climate Bonds Standard Board nor any organisation, individual or other person forming part of, or representing, the Climate Bonds Standard Board (together, "CBSB") accepts or owes any duty, liability or responsibility of any kind whatsoever to any issuer which wishes to apply for any of its bonds to be certified under the Climate Bonds Certification Scheme ("Scheme"), or to any issuer whose bonds may at any time be certified under the Scheme or to any other person or body whatsoever, whether with respect to the award or withdrawal of any certification under the Scheme or otherwise. All advice or recommendations with respect to any certification under the Scheme or otherwise that CBSB provides to the Climate Bonds Initiative Board is provided to it in an advisory capacity only and is not to be treated as provided or offered to any other person”