MARKETS AND FINANCE BBiiooeenneerrggyy IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall NNoo 7788,, 22--22001155 2299 From an energy climate perspective Norway may seem something of a paradox. It has large oil and gas reserves yet it has the world’s largest per capita fleet of all-electric vehicles (EV’s). The combined sales of new EV’s and vans, plug-in hybrids and used imports from neighboring countries was almost 14% of total passenger car registrations 2014. Kåre Gunnar Fløystad Head of Industry and Bioeconomy with Zero Emission Resource Organisation, ZERO, explains how this has come about and means for liquid biofuels. Can you describe what ZERO is and some background into your role? – ZERO was originally started in 2002 by a number of former environmental activists and members from other Norwegian environmental organisations. It is an independent, not-for-profit foundation based in Oslo, Norway and the focus is, as the name suggests, on climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction while meeting a growing global energy demand. We work to reduce GHG emissions in all sectors and have a main focus on renewable energy, transport, construction, industry, petroleum and bioeconomy. We have a turnover of around NOK 22.3 million and employ around 26 full-time staff equivalents. Although we operate in Norway an increasing amount of our work is international. I have a Masters degree in renewable energy and before joining ZERO I worked for the state funded business innvovation and development agency Innovation Norway with its bioenergy programme. At ZERO I am in charge of our work within industry and bioeconomy. Amongst other things this includes all forms of biomass usage such as chemicals, polymers, biofuels and energy. It sounds perhaps a bit diffuse but it is due to the ad-hoc and project nature of our work. What makes ZERO different from other ENGO’s, how you work to achieve your aim? – The baseline for ZERO is that we believe there is a renewable emission free solution for all energy generation and usage. Furthermore that it is possible to find solutions for a growing world without threatening climate and biodiversity. By emissions is meant anthropogenic fossil based or derived GHG not sustainable biogenic sources. A key difference is our cooperation instead of confrontation approach to achieve this goal. Being dogmatically locked into a ”say no” ideology where all and everything is a problem doesn’t move anything or anyone forward. The “yes but not-in-my-backyard” (NIMBY) attitude can be worse as it gives the impression of being progressive when it, more often than not, is an expression for politically correct lip service while maintaining business as usual. Of course not all objections are unfounded, the point being there are those that systematically evoke yes but NIMBY. The underlying philosophy is that if new energy facilities and industrial processes are built emission-free, then when existing plants and methods are phased out, society is left with emission-free facilities. Thus it makes sense to facilitate the development of emission-free processes and technologies and shape robust policies that support them in making this green shift. To do this we need to work with businesses and policy-makers. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) means doing more than just meeting regulations and legal requirements. It is crucial that businesses and municipalities take the lead if we are to achieve climate policy goals. Norwegian compa- nies all have a wide reaching responsibility and are expected to perform to a triple bottom line, measured in financial, environmental and social performance. Therefore, collaboration with the public and private sector is an integral part of our strategy. This approach may be construed by some as being a corporate governmental greenwash front, how is your work financed? – Our organisational form and decision-making structure enables maximum operational freedom with minimal risk for any ”corporate interference” or political. We do not have any members and so have no internal membership politics to take into consideration. We work to find renewable energy solutions and policies for a given situation or project without advocating any specific renewable technology so we are not subject to having to compromise a position. We are funded by donations from individuals, public- and private sector companies and organisations along with some advertising, activity sponsorship, conference and events that we organise and other cooperation forms. We have a policy that must be accepted by the other party before we can accept any form of funding or enter into cooperation. It clearly decouples any link or potential risk for ”cohersive influence” between the funder or donor and our activities. We publically disclose our donors, we do not endorse any products or technologies nor do we have exclusive partnerships and of course we can exercise the right to refuse. You mentioned transportation policy, your view on the use of biofuels in transportation? – One of our most important and tangible successes that also exemplifies our integrated work approach is the Norwegian electric vehicle (EV) policy. EV’s are exempt from all non-recurring vehicle fees, including purchase taxes, which are extremely high for ordinary cars and 25% VAT on on the purchase. This makes the EV purchase price competitive with conventional cars. The rationale for Norway is we have an abundance of renewable electricity thanks to hydro. Not all road transportation can be electrified, at least not yet, so at the same time we are pushing for ethanol, biodiesel and biogas. Furthermore other sectors such as marine and aviation will need liquid biofuels to decarbonise, especially the latter which has no alternative in the foreseeable future to internal combustion. Therefore it is important to build a robust, diverse and sustainable biofuel production capacity that today is used for road transportation but can be transferred to other modes of transport or industries such as biochemicals over the course of time. Text & photo: Alan Sherrard BI78/4795/AS #JP0QJOJPO,¾SF(VOOBS'MÐZTUBE )FBEPG*OEVTUSZ#JPFDPOPNZ;&30 ”It is important to build a robust, diverse and sustainable biofuel production capacity”
Bioenergy no 2 - March 2015
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