1

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Intiouuction ................................................................................................................................................................ 1
Napping iegulation anu goveinance netwoiks ...................................................................................... 1
Public policy objectives foi biofuels ............................................................................................................. 1
Bomestic policies anu iegulations .................................................................................................................... 1
Supply-siue measuies ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Legal iegulation of piouuction anu uistiibution ................................................................................ 1
Subsiuies, tax piefeiences anu ielateu suppoits ............................................................................... 1
Intellectual piopeity iights ......................................................................................................................... 1
Bemanu-siue measuies ..................................................................................................................................... 1
The blenu wall ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Renewable fuel manuates ............................................................................................................................ 1
Sustainability ceitification anu labelling initiatives ......................................................................... 1
Inteinational tiaue goveinance issues ............................................................................................................ 1
The WT0 .................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Taiiffs .................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Subsiuies .............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Stanuaius ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Bilateial tiaue anu iegulatoiy coopeiation .............................................................................................. 1
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Refeiences .................................................................................................................................................................... 1


2


INTR0B0CTI0N
NAPPINu REu0LATI0N ANB u0vERNANCE NETW0RKS
The global biofuels inuustiy is, at piesent, almost univeisally uepenuant on goveinment
suppoit policies (ulobal Subsiuies Initiative 2u11). Naiket inteiventions incluue policies
uesigneu to stimulate uomestic piouuction thiough subsiuies to piouuceis, investment in
biofuels R&B, anu impoit taiiffs on biofuels, as well as iegulations to cieate uemanu by
manuating biofuel use. As a iesult of such laws, iegulations anu policies, existing biofuels
maikets aie heavily piice-uistoiteu. Foiwaiu anu backwaiu linkages with othei maikets
that aie highly volatile (e.g., oil) anu also piice-uistoiteu (e.g., agiicultuie) make the
economics of the biofuels inuustiy exceeuingly complex (Kojima anu Nitchell 2uu7). This
economic complexity manifests in a lack of consensus on the oppoitunity costs of
aggiessive biofuels policy goals, as well as the appiopiiate fiamewoik foi foiesight into the
futuie of biofuels.
Political complexity poses fuithei challenges. In Westein uemociacies, at least, uiffuseu
uecision-making anu policy implementation is the mouein political ieality in iespect of
almost any impoitant issue. Commanu anu contiol by cential goveinments is all but
obsolete. Booghe anu Naiks (2uuS) ieview how scholais in uiffeient uisciplines have
uiffeient teims (oi the same teims with uiffeient meanings) to uesciibe this phenomenon,
incluuing "multi-level," "netwoik," "multilateial," "global," anu "polycentiic" goveinance, to
name just a few. Flexibility is the basic, shaieu postulate: Becision-making institutions anu
piocesses in such systems can be aujusteu to piomote efficiency oi iecognize
heteiogeneity, as ciicumstances iequiie (Booghe anu Naiks 2uuS, 2SS-6). That is not to
piesume, of couise, that the uesign of multi-level goveinance systems is always uelibeiate.
0ften it is acciuental oi even uncontiollable.
ulobally, "multilevel goveinance has come to be seen as a much bioauei tienu, one which
incluues the upwaiu uiffusion of powei to iegional anu inteinational oiganizations as well
as the uownwaiu uiffusion of powei to vaiious sub-national goveinments" (Baimes 2uu6).
This piocess of uiffusion is not just veitical oi juiisuictional, howevei. Negotiations aie
non-hieiaichical between institutions (Peteis anu Pieiie 2uu1), incluuing non-
goveinmental actois who have taken up ciucial ioles in new systems of goveinance
(Rosenau 1992; 1997).
Which actois shoulu govein the global biofuels inuustiy, anu whethei goveinance of
biofuels shoulu be ielatively centializeu oi uecentializeu aie questions beyonu the scope of
this papei. The piagmatic fact of the mattei is that, in the iealm of biofuels, authoiity ovei
policy uecisions anu associateu iegulatoiy iule making => uispeiseu among many uiffeient


S


actois opeiating at uiffeient levels. Biofuels is a textbook example of one type of multi-level
goveinance in opeiation, wheie an unlimiteu numbei of inteisecting goveinment anu non-
goveinment actois caiiy out specific tasks in a flexible, unsystematic piocess of
collaboiation anu competition (Booghe anu Naiks 2uuS; Rosenau 1997).
Stuuies on the legal anu policy aspects of the biofuels iegulatoiy lanuscape, howevei, have
not yet chaiacteiizeu the issues in this way. The liteiatuie, all ielatively new, fits within
two bioau categoiies: (a) uetaileu analyses of paiticulai aspects of goveinance, foi example
the impacts of goveinment suppoit (Steenblik 2uu7) oi sustainability ciiteiia (ue veia
2uu7; Sheehan 2uu9; Switzei 2uu7; 0NCTAB 2uu8) oi the application of inteinational
tiaue laws to those issues (Besphanue 2uu6; Echols 2uu9; Baimei 2uu9; Bowse ?@ ABC
2uu6; Keii anu Loppachei 2uuS), anu (b) geneial oveiviews of biofuels policy issues anu
instiuments woiluwiue, iegionally oi nationally (Ngo ?@ ABC 2uu8; Kauiti 2uu9; }ull 2uu7;
Soiua ?@ ABC 2u1u).
0ne obseivation about the existing liteiatuie is that theie aie few if any analyses of the
complete biofuels goveinance lanuscape. The liteiatuie mostly focuses on (anu typically
ciitiques) policy instiuments, like ienewable fuel manuates oi goveinment subsiuies
uesigneu to >DEEFG@ biofuels, neglecting to note at the same time the plethoia of laws,
iegulatoiy instiuments anu technical stanuaius that HFI>@GA=I biofuels. Policy suppoits aie
in auuition to stanuaius anu iules that constiain the piouuction, blenuing, uistiibution,
stoiage anu tiaue of biofuels.
The liteiatuie on biofuels is, in that sense, almost the inveise of the liteiatuie on the
iegulation of biotechnology geneially, which tenus to focus much moie on constiaints than
suppoits. Peihaps this is because the iegulation of biofuels is in fact piimaiily suppoitive of
the new inuustiies anu technologies, unlike the iegulations goveining biotechnology
geneially (Claik 2u1u; Phillips ?@C ABC 2uu6), oi any iegulations foi that mattei, which seem
motiveu moie by piecaution conceining iisks (Shapiio 199u; Sunstein 2uuS). Similaily,
most of the existing policy liteiatuie focuses on JFK?GIL?I@ not JFK?GIAIH?. uoveinance
incluues goveinment measuies, but also a wiue iange of iegulatoiy oi quasi-iegulatoiy
poweis exeiciseu by piivate actois, incluuing fiims, inuustiy associations anu thiiu-paity
stanuaiu-setting oiganizations.
A holistic view of biofuels goveinance must, howevei, incluue all kinus of ielevant
measuies. This papei, theiefoie, begins to connect cioss-uisciplinaiy liteiatuies on biofuels
policy issues with uiscussion of specific examples of laws, iegulations anu stanuaius
goveiningfoimally anu infoimally suppoiting anu constiainingthis sectoi. The cential
objective heie is to map the iegulatoiy anu goveinance stiuctuies aiounu biofuels in oiuei
to ieveal the entiie emeiging lanuscape, anu to situate this lanuscape within the analytical
fiamewoik of multi-level, netwoik goveinance.


4


Piesuming that a global goveinance system foi bioeneigy is neeueu (oi inevitable), some
scholais have alieauy staiteu exploiing geneiic mouels as possibilities (veiuonk ?@ ABC
2uu7). This papei, in contiast, uoes not iecommenu oi even consiuei specific goveinance
alteinatives. Rathei, it takes the position that bettei suiveying the cuiient situation is a
pieiequisite foi noimative uebate about the likely oi appiopiiate goveinance mouels foi
biofuels in the futuie. The ultimate vision to which this woik contiibutes is a iegulation anu
goveinance fiamewoik foi biofuels that, while not necessaiily simplei, let alone
haimonizeu, is moie cooiuinateu anu bettei iationalizeu.
The analysis is piesenteu in two majoi sections, following a moie uetaileu uiscussion in
this intiouuction of key policy objectives foi biofuels. Fiist is an oveiview of typical
uomestic policies anu iegulations. These incluue supply-siue measuies, like subsiuies anu
iegulations iegaiuing biofuels piouuction anu uistiibution, anu uemanu-siue measuies,
such as stanuaius iegulating minimum (anu maximum) uses of ienewable fuels. Foi typical
illustiations of biofuels iegulation anu goveinance in auvanceu economies, this papei
iefeis often to the lanuscape in 0ECB membei states, but also uiscusses the unique
peispectives of ueveloping countiies. Seconu, given the inevitably global natuie of the
economic, enviionmental anu othei policy objectives ielateu to biofuels, uomestic
iegulations aie auuiesseu in light of inteinational law anu policy, especially ielateu to
tiaue. The most ielevant iegulations aie piomulgateu anu auministeieu thiough the Woilu
Tiaue 0iganization (WT0), but bipluiilateial ielations aie becoming incieasingly
impoitant. This papei looks at two of the 0niteu States' majoi tiauing paitneis that both
have laige stakes in, oi influence on, the global biofuels iegulatoiy uebatethe Euiopean
0nion (E0) anu Canauafoi a potentially path-bieaking template foi bilateial coopeiation
between laige, uevelopeu countiies. A conclusion summaiizes the analysis anu suggests
uiiections foi futuie ieseaich in this fielu.
P0BLIC P0LICY 0B}ECTIvES F0R BI0F0ELS
Biofuels have been aiounu basically foievei. Ancient ancestois buineu theii fiist fiies with
giass anu woou, so-calleu biomass to use contempoiaiy jaigon. As society's eneigy neeus
evolveu fiom cooking anu heating to tianspoitation anu manufactuiing, souices of that
eneigy also evolveu. The inuustiial ievolution uiove unpieceuenteu uemanu foi fossil fuel,
especially coal. 0vei time, technology enableu exploitation of othei fossil fuels such as
petioleum anu natuial gas to meet the woilu's giowing uemanu foi eneigy.
The funuamental pioblem in this iecent histoiical pattein is that, although fossil fuels aie
essentially just oiganic mattei maue fiom the iemains of plants anu animals thiough the
eaith's geological piocesses, theii foimation takes millions oi hunuieus of millions of
yeais. The eaith's fossil fuel ieseives cannot sustain society's cuiient iates of eneigy
consumption. As impoitantly, the planet cannot absoib quickly enough the caibon uioxiue


S


emissions fiom buining fossil fuels at cuiient levels. Caibon uioxiue is one of seveial
gieenhouse gasses (uhu) in the atmospheie that among othei things iegulates the
tempeiatuie of the eaith's suiface. Buman actions such as this aie "veiy likely" iesponsible
foi "most of the obseiveu inciease in global aveiage tempeiatuies since the miu-2u
th

centuiy." (Inteigoveinmental Panel on Climate Change 2uu7, S9).
Put bluntly, humans aie causing potentially catastiophic changes to the eaith's climate anu
oui unsustainable use of fossil fuels is pait of the pioblem. This physical thieat to oui
existence is peihaps the most uigent impetus foi change. Some enviionmentalists, though
by no means all, aie optimistic that auvanceu biofuels will eventually emeige as a viable,
cleanei anu moie sustainable substitute foi petioleum piouucts.
The most wiuely citeu teims of iefeience foi enviionmental uebate about the use of
biofuels unfoitunately centie on "net eneigy" balance, which attempts to compaie fossil
eneigy useu uuiing piouuction to eneigy ueliveieu uuiing consumption (Faiiell ?@ AB 2uu6;
Pimentel anu Patzek 2uuS). Nany leauing scholais have calleu foi new metiics to
supplement oi, bettei, supplant (Bale 2uu7) the cuiient analytical fiamewoik, because the
most impoitant issue is not the net eneigy impact of biofuels themselves, but a compaiison
between biofuels anu the uominant alteinative: petioleum. That is, oi at least shoulu be,
the eneigy anu enviionmental policy at the heait of the biofuels inuustiy.
But "biofuels policy" isn't just about eneigy oi the enviionment. It is moie complex than
that. Some ieasons foi the complexity ielate to the economic, social anu political
oppoitunities piesenteu by the afoiementioneu enviionmental thieat.
Foi one thing, Westein countiies, especially the 0niteu States, iealize that inuustiial eneigy
anu national secuiity issues (economic anu physical secuiity) aie closely connecteu.
Stiategies aie being uevelopeu to ieuuce uepenuence on foieign eneigy supplies, anu in
paiticulai on petioleum coming fiom some of the woilu's most volatile iegions.
Biofuels fiom ciops such as coin oi canola giown uomestically oi by stable tiauing
paitneis, if piouuceu anu iefineu in sufficient quantities, coulu theoietically suppoit
secuiity-ielateu policy objectives. Although some expeits have questioneu the basic
assumption unueipinning these policies -- that supply of biofuels is moie secuie than fossil
fuels -- (Eaves anu Eaves 2uu7; Steenblik 2uu7, 44-4S), public peiception anu political
stiategizing tenu to conflate ethanol piouuction with gieatei eneigy secuiity. That key
legislation intiouucing new ienewable eneigy policies in the 0.S. was iebianueu fiom the


6


"CLEAN Eneigy Act" to the "Eneigy Inuepenuence anu Secuiity Act"
1
speaks louuly about
the way in which biofuels policies aie often peiceiveu anu piomoteu.
Piocuiing a moie secuie, as well as enviionmentally sustainable, supply of eneigy fiom
ciops insteau of fossil fuels has the fuithei putative benefit of stiategically suppoiting
agiicultuie inuustiies. The agiicultuial policy aspects of biofuels aie key not only in
uevelopeu iegions of the woilu, like Noith Ameiica anu Euiope, but peihaps even moie so
in ueveloping iegions, such as South-East Asia, Southein Afiica anu Latin Ameiica. The
global economic geogiaphy of biofuels guaiantees at least oppoitunities if not ceitain
benefits foi ueveloping countiies with ielatively laige lanumasses, long giowing seasons
anu low laboui costs. A giowing numbei of stuuies theiefoie exploie biofuels' potential foi
poveity ieuuction anu sustainable inteinational uevelopment (foi example: Cauenas anu
Cabezuuo 1998; Bufey 2uu7; Bufey 2uu6; Kojima anu }ohnson 2uu6; Peskett ?@ ABC 2uu7;
Sims 2uu4; von Biaun anu Pachauii 2uu6).
In iecent yeais, agiicultuial policy issues have been among the most contioveisial
suiiounuing biofuels. Ciitics have aigueu that a global biofuels tiaue coulu collapse foou
anu eneigy maikets by uiveiting foou ciops oi lanu to the piouuction of biofuels, in tuin
linking ciop piices to vaiiations in woilu oil maikets (Nitchell 2uu8; Runge anu Senauei
2uu7). Bespite eaily suggestions that these phenomena have alieauy occuiieu, even in the
absence of libeializeu inteinational biofuels maikets, analysts uisagiee on the extent to
which the ongoing global foou ciisis that began with the 2uu7 spike in foou piices can be
causally linkeu to biofuels piouuction. The 0niteu Nations Confeience on Tiaue anu
Bevelopment (0NCTAB 2u11) takes the position that biofuels piouuction has been "a
uiivei of foou piice inflation foi ceitain ciops, but not the uominant one." Cieuible analysis
fiom the 0niteu Kinguom's Bepaitment foi Enviionment Foou anu Ruial Affaiis has
similaily concluueu that biofuels maue a ielatively small contiibution to the 2uu8 spike in
agiicultuial commouity piices (BEFRA 2uu9). In any case, thioughout the woilu, biofuels
aie unueistoou as an impoitant pait of agiicultuial policy.
Closely ielateu to agiicultuial policy matteis aie effoits to facilitate job cieation anu
economic uevelopment geneially. Nuch of the publisheu infoimation about biofuels-
ielateu employment anu economic activity comes fiom inuustiy associations iathei than
inuepenuent, peei ievieweu analysis (foi example: Canauian Renewable Fuels Association
2u1u; Renewable Fuels Association 2u1u). Regaiuless of the souice of uata, howevei, theie
is geneial iecognition that biofuels have the potential to become big business in the

1
Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007. H.R. 6. 110th Cong. Pub. L. 110-140.
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.110hr6.


7


foieseeable futuie. Policy inteiventions aie cleaily piemiseu, at least in pait, on this
expectation.
0nueipinning all of the consiueiations just uiscusseu is science anu technology policy. The
cuiient state of science anu technology allows foi the commeicial manufactuie of two
types of liquiu biofuel, ethanol anu biouiesel. Ethanol is an alcohol piouuceu thiough
feimentation of sugai souices, incluuing staich. Biazil anu the 0niteu States aie the woilu
leaueis, togethei accounting foi 7u% of woilu ethanol piouuction. Sugaicane is the main
ethanol feeustock useu in Biazil, wheieas in the 0.S. ethanol is ueiiveu mainly fiom
inuustiial coin. In Canaua, ethanol is ueiiveu fiom wheat in the Westein piovinces, anu
fiom coin in 0ntaiio anu Quebec. Biouiesel is maue by ieacting an alcohol with eithei
"waste" oils, such as useu cooking oils anu fish oils, oi "viigin" oils fiom ciops such as
canola. Nost biouiesel piouuction is in Euiope, wheie ueimany is the single laigest
piouucei. Canaua's fiist laige-scale biouiesel piouuction facility openeu in 2uuS, using
piouuction methous that allow foi the use of multiple feeustocks (Foige 2uu7). In 2uu9,
annual uomestic piouuction capacity in Canaua was estimateu at 1uuu million L foi ethanol
anu 2uu million L foi biouiesel, anu giowing (Litman 2uu9). A iepoit commissioneu by
Canaua's leauing inuustiy association states that 28 commeicial piouuction facilities aie
eithei in opeiation oi unuei constiuction (Boyletech 2u1u).
Theie is bioau consensus among expeits that biotechnological innovation will play a
ciucial iole in achieving the goals of biofuels-ielateu policy initiatives (Lynu ?@ AB. 2uu8).
So-calleu "seconu-geneiation" biofuels, iefeiiing usually to ethanol ueiiveu fiom a vaiiety
of low-cost cellulosic feeustocks incluuing woou, stiaw anu giass, coulu become
commeicially viable within the next ten to twenty yeais, as moie cost-effective
technologies foi conveiting cellulose into ethanol aie uiscoveieu anu intiouuceu. Inuustiy
obseiveis also foiecast the eventual commeicialization of "thiiu-geneiation" biofuels
ueiiveu fiom tiansgenic, high-yielu feeustocks engineeieu to paitially self-piocess into
biofuel post-haivest, as well as "fouith-geneiation" biofuels ueiiveu entiiely fiom novel
miciobes engineeieu to piouuce hyuiocaibons. The genomics of cellulosic biofuel will be
vital to the piocess of iealizing the potential of new technologies (Rubin 2uu8).
To summaiize, the global biofuels inuustiy is being uiiven by a combination of public
policy objectives ielateu to enviionmental sustainability, eneigy secuiity, agiicultuial
piouuctivity, socio-economic uevelopment anu scientific anu technological innovation.
Among these, the conveigence of enviionment, eneigy anu agiicultuialfoou policies have
thus fai ieceiveu the most attention among social scientists (Chailes ?@ ABC 2uu7; Be uoitei
anu }ust 2u1u; Rajjagopal anu Zilbeiman 2uu8). Inueeu, those issues have been put
foiwaiu as the biofuels policy "tiilemma" (Tilman ?@ ABC 2uu9). 0thei expeits have waineu
about the "imminent collision" between the uiffeient policy uiiveis of biofuels: "not all


8


these objectives can necessaiily be puisueu at the same time thiough policies suppoiting a
paii of fuels. The political economy of public tiansfeis is such that the iisk of public policy
being co-opteu in suppoit of piivate enus is anu will iemain gieat (Steenblik 2uu7)." While
this is no uoubt tiue, the point of highlighting key policy consiueiations is this papei is
meiely to intiouuce some of the ieasons that iegulation of this sectoi is so complex. The
following uiscussion exploies the iegulatoiy complexity in moie uetail.
B0NESTIC P0LICIES ANB REu0LATI0NS
S0PPLY-SIBE NEAS0RES
#%$"# *%$1#"<,)& )/ -*):1;<,)& "&: :,.<*,01<,)&
At the outset of this papei, it was explaineu that most of the existing social scientific
liteiatuie on biofuels focuses on policy suppoits. Consiueiation of iegulatoiy constiaints is
ielatively iaie (howevei see Willms 2u1u). It makes sense to begin uiscussion of these
iegulations with a ieview of laws goveining piouuction anu uistiibution of biofuels. The
Canauian system pioviues an excellent example of multi-level goveinance in this iespect.
Biofuels piouuceis anu uistiibutois in Canaua must comply with a collection of iules
piomulgateu by feueial, piovincial anu municipal goveinments, as well as an aiiay of
technical stanuaius set by ceitification bouies oi othei non-goveinmental entities, ielating
to almost all aspects of piouuction anu uistiibution.
Biofuels piouuction facilities aie typically consiueieu to be local unueitakings, which fall
within the iegulatoiy juiisuiction of piovincial oi municipal goveinments. The exception is
when piouuceis ieceive feueial funuing (which, as uiscusseu below, is almost always the
case). Then they become subject to feueial laws anu iegulatoiy iequiiements, incluuing foi
example the ;AIAM=AI %IK=GFIL?I@AB ">>?>>L?I@ "H@ (;%"").
2
Assessments involving
ethanol oi biouiesel piouuction in paiticulai aie cooiuinateu by Agiicultuie anu Agii-Foou
Canaua (AAFC), which liaises with vaiious othei ielevant feueial goveinment uepaitments
anu agencies. Betaileu guiuelines uemonstiate how complex this piocess is alieauy (AAFC,
2uu7a; 2uu7b). Willms (2u1u, 2) points out that it may be fuithei complicateu in the neai
futuie by stiictei iules that consiuei piouuction facilities' enviionmental impacts on aii,
watei anu human health within a geogiaphic iauius laigei than consiueieu pieviously.
Those aie just the feueial iegulations. Constitutional authoiity ovei "the enviionment" is
not specifieu by Canaua's ;FI>@=@D@=FI "H@5 74NO,
S
which uiviues iegulatoiy poweis between

2
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-15.2/.
3
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/Const_index.html, Part VI.


9


feueial anu piovincial goveinments. It has come to be an aiea of shaieu oi oveilapping
juiisuiction (Bogg 2u1u). Theiefoie, eveiy Canauian piovince also has its own, unique
enviionmental assessment iequiiements. Foitunately, these aie to some extent
cooiuinateu with feueial iules thiough an "0peiational Policy Statement"
4
on
enviionmental assessment coopeiation mechanisms to avoiu ieuunuancy oi, woise,
inconsistency.
Neveitheless, piovinces such as Albeita anu 0ntaiio tieat biofuels piouuceis like chemical
piouuceis oi othei piouuct manufactuieis. In Albeita, foi instance, that means they must
comply with statutes incluuing the piovincial %IK=GFIL?I@AB -GF@?H@=FI AIM %IPAIH?L?I@
"H@,
S
obtain appiovals fiom the Eneigy Resouices Conseivation Boaiu puisuant to the
%I?GJQ *?>FDGH?> ;FI>?GKA@=FI "H@
6
anu )=B AIM $A> ;FI>?GKA@=FI "H@
7
anu peimits puisuant
to the (A@?G "H@,
8
as well as othei laws anu iegulations (Willms 2u1u, S). Nanitoba is the
only Canauian piovince to have enacteu a biofuels-specific statute, the 0=FRD?B> "H@
9
anu
ielateu iegulations.
1u
But that has not ieally simplifieu matteis, because its licensing
iequiiements aie sepaiate fiom anu auuitional to the %IK=GFIL?I@ "H@.
11
These kinus of piovincial iegulations aie in auuition to municipal bylaws that govein
matteis fiom zoning to emissions. Willms (2u1u, 4) also points out how piivate citizens
may even play a iole in the goveinance anu iegulation of biofuels thiough the powei to
take legal action ovei nuisances fiom noise, ououi oi othei inteifeiences that may come
fiom biofuels piouuction facilities.
Following piouuction, theie aie iegulatoiy issues about uistiibution, incluuing stoiage, of
biofuels (Willms, 2u1u, 4-S). Again, goveinance is uiviueu among feueial, piovincial anu
municipal levels, but with the auueu complexity heie of manuatoiy compliance with thiiu-
paity stanuaius. These stanuaius might be cioss-iefeienceu by foimal iegulations, oi
auopteu puisuant to inuustiy best piactices oi even contiactual iequiiements. uoou

4
http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=34BB758F-1.
5
http://www.qp.alberta.ca/574.cfm?page=E12.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779735495.
6
http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/stat/rsa-2000-c-e-10/latest/rsa-2000-c-e-10.html.
7
http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/stat/rsa-2000-c-o-6/latest/rsa-2000-c-o-6.html.
8
http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/stat/rsa-2000-c-w-3/latest/rsa-2000-c-w-3.html.
9
http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/b040e.php.
10
http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/regs/b040e.php.
11
http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/e125e.php.


1u


examples aie the .@FGAJ? <AIS .Q>@?L> RFG -?@GFB?DL -GFMDH@> AIM "BB=?M -?@GFB?DL
-GFMDH@> *?JDBA@=FI>,
12
enacteu puisuant to the feueial ;AIAM=AI %IK=GFIL?I@AB -GF@?H@=FI
"H@,
1S
(not to be confuseu with the %IK=GFIL?I@AB ">>?>>L?I@ "H@ mentioneu above) anu
iequiiing tanks to be appioveu by the 0nueiwiiteis Laboiatoiies of Canaua (0LC).
Stanuaius establisheu by othei oiganizations, such as the Ameiican Petioleum Institute
(API) anu the Technical Stanuaius anu Safety Authoiity (TSSA) aie also ielevant in this
iegaiu.
API anu TSSA stanuaius aie integiateu into piovincial iegulatoiy iequiiements. 0ntaiio's
<?HPI=HAB .@AIMAGM> AIM .AR?@Q "H@
14
anu /=G? -GF@?H@=FI AIM -G?K?I@=FI "H@, incluuing the
/=G? ;FM?,
1S
illustiate how. Willms (2u1u, S) gives the example of stanuaius foi fuel stoiage
tanks, which if manufactuieu befoie 1986, may not be suitable foi ethanol-blenueu
biofuels.
It might be easiei foi biofuels piouuceis anu uistiibutois to know that compliance with ABB
of these laws, iegulations anu stanuaius weie manuatoiy. But, in fact, theii task is to
ueteimine TP=HP measuies govein theii paiticulai activities.
.10.,:,%.5 <"U -*%/%*%&;%. "&: *%#"<%: .1--)*<.
Subsiuies anu othei goveinment suppoits aie not iegulations E?G >?, but they aie veiy
much a pait of the biofuels goveinance pictuie. Inueeu, these suppoits play a ueteiminative
iole in the stiuctuie anu success of the inuustiy. Steenblik (2uu7, 2-6) calculates the total
value of suppoit foi biofuels thiough hunuieus of 0ECB goveinment piogiams stackeu to
covei viitually eveiy stage of piouuction anu consumption of ethanol anu biouiesel as at
least 0S$ 11 billion in 2uu6. The 0ECB itself put the figuie at 0S$ 1S billion in 2uu7 (citeu
in Soiua ?@ ABC 2u1u, 6977).
Napping, let alone unueistanuing, these suppoit piogiams is a majoi unueitaking that has
been attempteu by few ieseaicheis, anu only iecently (in Canaua see, foi example: Ngo ?@
ABC 2uu8, S4-42). An analysis is aiueu somewhat by visual iepiesentation of the biofuels
value chain.

12
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2008/2008-06-25/html/sor-dors197-eng.html.
13
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/c-15.31/.
14
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_00t16_e.htm.
15
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2007/elaws_src_regs_r07213_e.htm.


11


-34567 89 25:;3<37; =6>?3<7< @A <3BB767CA =>3CA; 3C AD7 :3>B57E; ;5==EF GD@3C

2>56G79 2A77C:E3H IJJKL IM
It woulu be impossible within the scope of this papei to uesciibe all of these suppoit
measuies in uetail. Foitunately, that exeicise has alieauy been uone thiough the
Inteinational Institute foi Sustainable Bevelopment's (IISB) ulobal Subsiuies Initiative,
which cooiuinateu in-uepth stuuies of goveinment piogiams in a numbei of majoi
biofuels-piouucing juiisuictions. These stuuies covei selecteu 0ECB membeis togethei
(Steenblik 2uu7), anu sepaiately incluuing Austialia (Quiike ?@ ABC 2uu9), Canaua (Laan ?@
ABC 2uu9), the Euiopean 0nion (Kutas ?@ ABC 2uu7; }ung ?@ ABC 2u1u), Switzeilanu (Steeblik
anu Simon 2uu7) anu the 0niteu States (Koplow 2uu6; 2uu7), as well as ueveloping
countiies such as China (ulobal Subsiuies Initiative 2uu8), Inuonesia (Billon ?@ ABC 2uu8)
anu Nalaysia (Lopez ?@ ABC 2uu8). Seveial othei ieseaicheis have pioviueu complementaiy
analyses, although these tenu to be eithei focuseu on one countiy inuiviuually iathei than
seveial compaiatively (in Canaua see, foi example: Ngo ?@ ABC 2uu8, S4-42), oi less uetaileu
oveiviews of global policies (foi example: Soiua ?@ ABC 2u1u).
In 0ECB countiies, at least, impoit taiiffs on foieign biofuels help to suppoit uomestic
piouuction. Taiiffs aie typically much highei foi ethanol than biouiesel, uue to quiiky
customs classification schemes goveining the inteinational biofuels tiaue, uiscusseu latei
in this papei. vaiious exemptions foi biofuels piouuceis in countiies with fiee tiaue
agieements (FTA) oi beneficiaiies of a geneializeu system of piefeiences (uSP) make
geneializations uifficult. Neveitheless, it has been aigueu in piinciple (Steenblik 2uu7, 6)


12


anu pioven empiiically (Le Roy et al. 2uu9) that suppoiting uomestic piouuceis by
eiecting baiiieis to cheapei impoits of foieign biofuels thiough taiiffs anu uisciiminatoiy
taxes is an incoheient policy, paiticulaily in light of simultaneous manuates to inciease
consumption thiough ienewable fuel stanuaius. Le Roy et. al. (2uu9, 1S-16) put it veiy
bluntly: "The iesults of the analysis show conclusively that impoit baiiieis favoui uomestic
supplieis of ethanol at the expense of consumeis. Impoit baiiieis injuie Canauian
consumeis by limiting theii access to supplies offeieu foi sale at lowei piices by moie
efficient piouuceis, paiticulaily those that aie locateu in subtiopical iegions that face
lowei costs of lanu anu laboui. With fieei tiaue, the uomestic ethanol piice woulu fall
while the woilu piice woulu iise as a consequence of the highei uemanu foi ethanol in
Canaua." But, they continue, "eliminating impoit baiiieis woulu be costly foi ethanol
piouuceis in Canaua. In iesponse to the lowei piices they woulu ieceive, the quantities of
ethanol they woulu offei foi sale woulu ueciease." So, appaiently, taiiffs aie a stiategy
(albeit inefficient anu possibly illegal) to countei the competitive auvantage that seveial
ueveloping countiies have foi biofuels piouuction.
Though complex anu contioveisial, at least taiiff suppoit measuies can be ielatively easily
evaluateu because they aie noimally applieu only at the feueial level. The same is not tiue
of anothei soit of suppoit, excise tax piefeiences oi exemptions. "Almost all 0ECB
countiies in which biofuels aie consumeu have useu that foim of tax concession at some
point, whethei the tax being exempteu was ielatively small oi laige (Steenblik 2uu7, 2)."
The analytical challenge, howevei, is to unueistanu the inteiconnections among feueial
anu sub-national taxation policies, which opeiate in tanuem to ueteimine levels of effective
suppoit in any paiticulai juiisuiction. These iates can be highly vaiiable thioughout multi-
level goveinance systems, foi example between 0.S. states (Koplow 2uu7, 17-18) oi
Canauian piovinces, teiiitoiies anu even some municipalities (Laan ?@ ABC 2uu9, 29-S1, S4-
S6). In the E0, theie is no Community-wiue excise tax policy foi biofuels; most Nembei
States have theii own, uiffeient policies (}ung ?@ ABC 2u1u, 42-Su). What iemains mostly
unuocumenteu is the extent to which theie is even fuithei vaiiability in taxation policies
T=@P=I E.0. Nembei States. In most juiisuictions, paiticulai tax piefeiences also vaiy with
the composition of the biofuel in question, such the blenuing iatio of ethanol to gasoline.
Steenblik (2uu7, 2S) has noteu a geneial tienu away fiom fuel-tax piefeiences towaiu
volumetiic piouuction subsiuies anuoi consumption manuates, possibly to avoiu tiaue
uisputes, oi to safeguaiu the highway infiastiuctuie funuing that comes laigely fiom excise
taxes. Regaiuless of the ieason, the pattein is unmistakable: theie aie a giowing numbei of
uiiect oi inuiiect subsiuies anu opeiatoi incentives available to biofuels piouuceis,
blenueis anu uistiibutois. As a iesult, it is becoming moie uifficult not only foi
goveinments oi obseiveis to manage anu evaluate these the piogiams, but also foi
inuustiy actois themselves to iuentify anu capitalize on an incieasingly bewilueiing aiiay


1S


of suppoit measuies. These challenges aie compounueu because so many of the piogiams,
especially at the statepiovincial level, aie in tiemenuous flux (Koplow 2uu7, S).
The piogiams just uesciibeu ielate essentially to FD@ED@> fiom the biofuels piouuction
piocess. Theie is an equally if not even moie complex collection of policies anu instiuments
that impact =IED@> foi biofuels, such as biomass anu feeustocks, factois of piouuction like
laboui anu capital, anu scientific ieseaich anu uevelopment.
The biofuels goveinance fiamewoik has incluueu a numbei of impoitant suppoit measuies
stemming fiom specific anu geneial agiicultuial policies. In the E0, foi example, a special
system of setting asiue lanu foi inuustiial anu eneigy (i.e. non-foou) ciops existeu since
199S, allowing foi ioughly 1u% of total faimlanu in the E0 to useu foi piouucing ciops foi
biofuels, heat anu electiicity. Faimeis ieceiveu compensation foi setting asiue this lanu, as
well as sepaiate pei-hectaie payments foi giowing eneigy ciops. Although these suppoit
piogiams have been uiscontinueu as a iesult of iefoims to the E0's Common Agiicultuial
Policy (CAP), theie aie still inteivention piice mechanisms that guaiantee a minimum piice
foi most ceieals, incluuing some feeustocks useu foi biofuels (}ung ?@ ABC 2u1u, Su-SS).
Inteiestingly, analysis of 0S uata has shown that state excise tax exemptions MF IF@
influence the uevelopment of biofuels piouuction capacity, but uiiect funuing anu subsiuies
MF have a noticeable impact (Nabee 2uu7). In light of that finuing, it may be suipiising that
"the subsiuy-equivalent values of suppoit foi capital have piobably been much less than
the value of piouuction-ielateu incentives. (Steenblik 2uu7, S4)." The woiu "piobably" is
key in that passage because, as Steenblik (2uu7, S2) notes, tiacking AH@DAB suppoit foi
piouuction factois like plant capital, as opposeu to goveinment buugetaiy allocations foi
such expenuituies, is veiy uifficult.
This suppoit comes in vaiious foims, incluuing outiight giants, contingent loans
(iepayable uepenuing on maiket conuitions) oi loan guaiantees. Suppoit may be offeieu
foi laige-scale piouuction infiastiuctuie oi to encouiage faimei paiticipation in small anu
meuium sizeu opeiations. In feueial (=C?C multi-level) goveinance systems, "subsiuy
stacking" fiom municipal, statepiovincial anu feueial souices is common (Steenblik 2uu7,
SS). The Canauian system pioviues a goou example of this phenomenon (Laan ?@ ABC 2uu9,
S6-4S, S7-6u; Ngo 2uu8, S9-4u); Foi uetails, Canaua's leauing inuustiy association pioviues
a concise anu convenient summaiy of oveilapping feueial anu piovincial public policy
piogiams on its website.
16

As mentioneu above, biofuels may iequiie stoiage anu uistiibution systems that aie
uiffeient fiom systems uesigneu foi liquiu fossil fuels. Compliance with these technical

16
www.greenfuels.org


14


stanuaius anu legal iegulations iequiies costly investments. Steeblik (2uu7 S4) iepoits
that it is common foi Su% of these costs to be unueiwiitten by goveinments.
Because scientific ieseaich anu technological uevelopment is essential to iealizing public
policy objectives foi the biofuels sectoi, financial anu othei suppoit foi R&B must be
vieweu as pait of the lanuscape foi biofuels goveinance. uoveinments aiounu the woilu
aie pouiing huge sums of money into this enueavoi, especially to suppoit the
commeicialization of next-geneiation biofuels. Examples incluue C$ 14S million available
thiough Canaua's Agiicultuial Biopiouucts Innovation Piogiam (ABIP), t68 million unuei
a similai E0 piogiam anu 0S$ 1Su million fiom the 0S Biofuels Initiative (Steenblik 2uu7,
S6). To the extent that R&B suppoits aie geneializable, suppoiting society as a whole,
these aie less contioveisial fiom both an economic anu legal peispective. That issue of
achieving an acceptable balance of publicpiivate benefits fiom investment into R&B
segues well into the final aspect of supply-siue goveinance of biofuels uiscusseu in this pait
of the papeiintellectual piopeity iights.
,&<%##%;<1"# -*)-%*<2 *,$V<.
In the past, intellectual piopeity iights (IPRs) weie not well unueistoou as a key foim of
inuustiial iegulation oi public policy, but iathei weie vieweu as essentially a piivate
mattei goveining ielations within oi among a small numbei of fiims. In iecent uecaues,
howevei, the laws, policies anu piactices aiounu IPRs have become incieasingly iecognizeu
as a majoi pait, inueeu among the most impoitant paits, of global business goveinance anu
iegulation (Biaithwaite anu Biahos, 2uuu). Anu IPRs play a iole not only in iegulating
commeicial activities, but also in iegulating scientific ieseaich piioi to commeicialization
(Rai 1999).
Theie aie seveial inteiesting obseivations to make about the giowing ielevance of IPRs as
a foim of goveinance anu iegulation, noteu wiuely, but especially well aiticulateu by, foi
example, political scientists such as Sell (2uuS) anu political economists like Nay (2u1u).
0ne is that IPRs pose challenges that aie beyonu the scope of national soveieignty, so both
national anu intei-goveinmental institutions inevitably play a iole in the globalization of
iegulation. Anothei is that evei-expanuing piotection foi IPRs, paiticulaily thiough
inteinational tiaue agieements, has contiibuteu towaiu a uiamatic shift in contiol ovei
knowleuge. Piivate powei exeiciseu thiough owneiship of IPRs has become as oi moie
ielevant than many othei public laws iegulating knowleuge-intensive inuustiies.
The technologically auvanceu anu innovation-uiiven chaiactei of biofuels ieseaich anu
piouuct uevelopment viitually guaiantees that IPRs will be a majoi component of biofuels
goveinance in paiticulai. Public IPR policies anu piivate IPR stiategies have the potential
to inuuce investment in anu facilitate tiansfei of innovative technologies, but at the same
time coulu conceivably iestiict knowleuge anu technology flows in the sectoi. 0nly veiy


1S


iecently has inteinational attention been uiiecteu at this topic in the paiticulai context of
biofuels (0NEP 2u1u), as compaieu foi example to the biomeuical context.
So-calleu patent thicketsmultiple upstieam patents wheie oveilapping iights may
impeue the uevelopment oi commeicialization of technologyaie an issue of some
concein (Bellei 2uu8; }affe anu Leinei 2uu4, S9; Shapiio 2uu1) foi which cioss-licensing
anu patent pooling have been suggesteu as a possible solution (Claik ?@ ABC 2u1u).
Accoiuing to a iecent stuuy by Cahoy anu ulenna (2uu9, 42S), the 0niteu States issueu ovei
foui times moie patents ielating to ethanola fiist-geneiation biofuelin 2uu8 than in
2uuS. Bespite this suige, consiueiable oppoitunities foi giowing patent poitfolios
appaiently still iemain open, especially foi next-geneiation fuels (Nannan 2u1u). Anu
patents aie not the only ielevant foim of piotection available; it may also be possible to
piotect innovations like engineeieu BNA thiough copyiight (Bogle 199u; Silva 2uuu; Smith
1987; Bolman 2u1u). That coulu be woiiisome because copyiights, unlike patents, iequiie
no foimal application to ieceive piotection, can easily last foi a centuiy oi moie, anu have
no iegistiy oi uatabase thiough which to monitoi owneiship. All of this taken togethei
lenus cieuibility to the piemonition of an incipient thicket of vaiious uiffeient IPRs.
Cioss-licensing anu patent pooling aie one way that piivate oiueiing may iesolve this
challenge. Cahoy anu ulenna (2uu9) point also to anothei possibility foi piivate oiueiing:
Empiiical eviuence anu theoietical insights suggest that owneiship of biofuels-ielateu
patents is likely to become moie concentiateu ovei time, as happeneu with agiicultuial
biotechnology patents uuiing the past few uecaues. Piecisely how IPRs influence the
mechanisms of goveinance in geneial has been explaineu by, foi example, 0xley (1999).
Suffice it to say that if Cahoy anu ulenna's pieuiction comes tiue, the uistiibution of
economic benefits fiom the biofuel inuustiy will likely be limiteu. Anu in any event,
ostensibly 'piivate' IPR tiansactions shoulu be factoieu into any analysis of biofuels public
policy, iegulation anu goveinance.
Relevant to this uiscussion of the concentiation of maiket powei anu goveinance thiough
piivate oiueiing, Lemley (2uu2) makes a key point about the inteisection of IPRs anu
stanuaiu-setting oiganizations in geneial. Although these aie two key uiiveis of change in
the goveinance of biofuels specifically, theie is no uiscussion in the biofuels liteiatuie
about how actions of biofuels stanuaiu-setting oiganizations coulu also have a substantial
impact on ways that the biofuels patent lanuscape factois into the goveinance of the
inuustiy anu associateu technologies. Bepenuing on how biofuels stanuaiuson
eveiything fiom technical iegulations iegaiuing stoiage oi tianspoit to new sustainability
stanuaius foi piouuction methousemeige ovei the coming yeais, Lemley's (2uu2, 189S)
comments may become veiy ielevant:


16


WVFT X>@AIMAGMY>?@@=IJ FGJAI=ZA@=FI>[ G?>EFIM @F @PF>? TPF A>>?G@ =I@?BB?H@DAB EGFE?G@Q
G=JP@> AJA=I>@ A EGFEF>?M >@AIMAGM => HG=@=HABBQ =LEFG@AI@C (P?@P?G FG IF@ A EG=KA@? HFLEAIQ
G?@A=I> =I@?BB?H@DAB EGFE?G@Q G=JP@> =I A JGFDE >@AIMAGM T=BB M?@?GL=I? TP?@P?G @P? >@AIMAGM
=> \FE?I\ FG \HBF>?MC\ ,@ T=BB M?@?GL=I? TPF HAI >?BB HFLEB=AI@ EGFMDH@>5 AIM =@ LAQ T?BB
=IRBD?IH? TP?@P?G @P? >@AIMAGM AMFE@?M =I @P? LAGS?@ => FI? HPF>?I ]Q A JGFDE FG FI? FRR?G?M
]Q A >=IJB? HFLEAIQC^
Eaily commentatois on the IPR lanuscape aiounu biofuels aie iaising othei issues, as well.
Theie have been calls foi mouifications to the cuiient goveinance system, ianging fiom
imposition of compulsoiy licensing foi climate-change ielateu inventions, ielaxation of
non-obviousness anu novelty iequiiements to incentivize inciemental technological
auvances anu speeu technology tiansfei, anu the cieation of a new species of "gieen"
patents with shoiteneu peiious of exclusivity (Beileson 2uu9; Behles 2uu9). The
appiopiiate iegulatoiy iesponse to these global issues will vaiy with local ciicumstances,
paiticulaily between uevelopeu anu less uevelopeu countiies (Baiton 2uu7; Copenhagen
Economics 2uu9; Cannauy 2uu9), theieby fuithei complicating goveinance of biofuels
thiough IPRs.
BENANB-SIBE NEAS0RES
0p to this point in the papei, uiscussion has concentiateu on the goveinance of biofuels
piouuction, incluuing stoiage anu uistiibution.
<V% 0#%&: ("##
Ethanol fuel blenus aie typically uesciibeu accoiuing to the peicentage of ethanol in the
mixtuie by volume. Foi example, E8S is 8S% anhyuious ethanol anu 1S% gasoline. The
use of ethanol blenus in conventional vehicles is typically iestiicteu to lowei mixtuies
(E1u-E2S), since ethanol is coiiosive anu can potentially uegiaue some of the mateiials in
the gasoline engine anu fuel system. Bowevei flex-fuel engines in alteinative fuel vehicles
aie capable of buining any piopoition of ethanol fuel, incluuing E1uu oi puie ethanol,
which is wiuely useu in many countiies. As a iesult, theie is no technological constiaint on
ethanol fuel piouuction anu exploitation E?G >?.
Bowevei, legal limits have been establisheu anu imposeu with iegaiu to ethanol fuel
blenus, which cieate what is known as a "blenu wall." Rathei than leave the blenu wall in
the hanus of the fiee maiket, some goveinment iegulatois have opteu to constiain biofuel
uemanu by setting (oi auopting oi cioss-iefeiencing thiiu paity) stanuaius that limit the
ethanol content of gasoline. Foi example, legislation in Austialia has imposeu a 1u peicent
cap on the concentiation of ethanol blenus (Austialian uoveinment 2uuS).
The blenu wall is paitially a consequence of a vaiiety of commeicial factois. All gasoline
vehicles built in Biazil to iun with blenus fiom E2u to E2S anu ovei half of all cais in the


17


countiy aie of the flex-fuel vaiiety.
17
As a uiiect iesult, Biazil piouuceu 24.9 billion liteis of
ethanol in 2uu9, most of which went to meet uomestic fuel uemanu (Renewable Fuels
Association 2u1u). Alteinatively, no Ameiican manufactuiei waiiants its vehicles to use
gasoline with highei than 1u peicent ethanol anu most existing infiastiuctuie is uesigneu
anu ceitifieu to uelivei an E1u mixtuie. The enu iesult is a compaiably lowei ethanol
blenu wall.
0n 0ctobei 12, 2u1u the 0niteu States Enviionment Piotection Agency (EPA) iaiseu the
uppei limit foi the blenu of ethanol in gasoline fiom 1u peicent (E1u) to 1S peicent (E1S)
foi use in newei vehicles. The EPA claimeu the waivei woulu not only cut-uown petioleum
consumption, but also help ieuuce fuel piices (Nilbouin 2u1u). Response to the uecision
was uiviueu. The ethanol inuustiy welcomeu the move as a significant step in the iight
uiiection, towaius eneigy inuepenuence anu away fiom the blenu wall (uiowth Eneigy
2uu9). Bowevei otheis weie left uissatisfieu, incluuing Ameiican foou piouuceis, the oil
inuustiy, anu select enviionmentalists. 0nsuipiisingly, Ameiican vehicle manufactuieis
also voiceu conceins iegaiuing the EPA's move, paiticulaily because the inciease coulu
impact waiianties on hunuieus of millions of vehicles, anu uigeu the uoveinment to ie-
examine the situation (Auto Alliance 2u1u). 0n Febiuaiy 21, 2u11, in a 28S-to-16S vote in
the Bouse of Repiesentatives, the lowei chambei of Congiess voteu to block the funuing
necessaiy foi the EPA to ioll out the waivei. Even if the waivei finus appioval fiom the
Bouse, it is uncleai whethei fuel supplieis anuoi ietaileis woulu be willing to sell the fuel
without inuustiy assuiance that it will not uamage theii existing systems oi leau to futuie
liability issues (Yaccobuci 2u1u).
Lacking a national iegulatoiy iegime similai to the 0niteu States, some of the Canauian
piovinces have electeu to auopt the Canauian ueneial Stanuaius Boaiu's (CuSB's)
"Stanuaiu foi 0xygenateu 0nleaueu Automotive uasoline Containing Ethanol," thus
limiting the ethanol content of gasoline to 1u peicent by volume (Wilms 2u1u, 6). The
CuSB is a feueial oiganization anu a bianch of the Bepaitment of Public Woiks anu
uoveinment Seivices that cieates stanuaius foi public anuoi piivate sectoi clients. The
CBSB stanuaius aie not automatically binuing, but can become legally ielevant if they aie
incoipoiateu into feueial oi piovincial laws. Such is the case foi the 0ntaiio anu Biitish
Columbia iegulations, which specify that blenueu gasoline must meet the CuSB's stanuaius
anu specifications. The CuSB is cuiiently consiueiing significantly iaising the uppei
stanuaiu to gasoline containing Su peicent to 8S peicent ethanol, although the
oiganization has not yet taken any foimal steps to uo so (Wilms 2u1u, 6). The iesponse
fiom Canauian stakeholueis to such a move iemains to be seen.

17
http:www.eia.uoe.govemeucabsBiazil0il.html.


18


The whole notion of a blenu wall that effectively caps uemanu foi biofuels thiough
iegulations cieateu oi sanctioneu by goveinments is somewhat bizaiie when one iealises
the consiueiable effoit that goveinments simultaneously make to manuate a minimum
level of uemanu foi biofuels thiough othei measuies, specifically ienewable fuel manuates.
In piactice, the blenu wall is the ceiling foi biofuels uemanu, while ienewable fuel
manuates aie the flooi.
*%&%("0#% /1%# 9"&:"<%.
The most stiategically valuable measuies foi the biofuels inuustiy may be iegulatoiy
stanuaius that iequiie a piopoition of tianspoitation oi othei fuels come fiom ienewable
souices. The teim "ienewable fuel stanuaius" (RFS) has come to be most commonly
auopteu to uesciibe these measuies, but they coulu be moie accuiately uesciibeu as
manuates insteau of stanuaius. Regaiuless, almost all juiisuictions seiiously tiying to uiive
uemanu foi biofuels have a RFS in place. To keep the analysis somewhat manageable, the
following uiscussion focuses mainly on ethanol in gasoline, though similai (but usually
lowei) iequiiements typically exist foi biouiesel as well.
0f ienewable fuel initiatives aiounu the woilu, Biazil's is the longest stanuing anu most
uevelopeu (Colaies 2uu7; Nass ?@ ABC 2uu7; Soiua 2u1u). Nany ieseaicheis tiace its histoiy
to the 197us' oil ciisis, though some have pointeu to biofuels policy measuies uevelopeu in
the 19Sus. In auuition to measuies to piomote use of ethanol-poweieu vehicles in Biazil,
laws put in place in 199S iequiieu that tianspoit fuels contain at least 22% ethanol. A
uecaue latei, this iegulatoiy iequiiement was incieaseu to 2S%.
Soiua (2u1u) suiveys RFS in many key juiisuictions aiounu the woilu, obseiving ianges
between 2.S% to 2S% with S% oi 1u% seeming to be noimal. Steenblik's analysis (2uu7,
27-Su) of seveial membeis of the 0ECB confiims this impiession, as well as noting that
blenuing iequiiements foi ethanol tenu to be highei than foi biouiesel. In those anu othei
analyses, two placesthe 0niteu States anu Euiopean 0nionstanu out, not because of
unusually high oi low piopoitional manuates, but because the quantity of fuel uemanueu in
these juiisuictions is so high that theii manuates will have tiemenuous impact on the
entiie global biofuels inuustiy. It is also woithwhile to examine the appioach in Canaua
anu seveial of its piovinces, which thiough multi-level goveinance have cieateu
oveilapping but geneially uncooiuinateu systems.
Canaua's national manuate foi a minimum maiket shaie of ienewable fuels ueiives fiom
amenuments in 2uu8 to the ;AIAM=AI %IK=GFIL?I@AB -GF@?H@=FI "H@,
18
which alloweu foi the
piomulgation of iegulations cieating an RFS. Those iegulations, titleu *?I?TA]B? /D?B>

18
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/c-15.31/.


19


*?JDBA@=FI>,
19
came into foice on Becembei 1S, 2u1u. They manuate an aveiage of S%
ienewable content in fuel, baseu on the volume of gasoline piouuceu anu impoiteu in
Canaua (anu 2% ienewable content in uiesel, coming into foice subject to technical
feasibility). Renewable content can be piouuceu fiom any feeustock. The iegulations apply
on aveiage, so that ienewable content can be useu moie wheie it is economical anu less
wheie it is not. They uo not apply to small piouuceis anu impoiteis, oi fuel useu in
Canaua's Noithein anu ielatively iemote aieas. It is also possible to tiaue "compliance
units" among biofuels piouuceis anu impoiteis.
If this sounus stiaightfoiwaiu, it is not. The publisheu iegulation occupies 1u9 piinteu
pages of the ;AIAMA $AZ?@@?,
2u
which incluues the Regulatoiy Impact Analysis Statement
anu eight appenueu scheuules, anu S pages of uefinitions within the iegulation's 4u
sections anu subsections. Beie is an example of one of those sections, which happens to be
the key to calculating compliance with the RFS:
!" _7` <P? KFBDL? FR G?I?TA]B? RD?B =I A EG=LAGQ >DEEB=?Ga> JA>FB=I?
EFFB RFG A JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FM => @F ]? M?@?GL=I?M =I
AHHFGMAIH? T=@P @P? ?bDA@=FI
*/$ c ;G?$ d *?H$ e <G$ e ;AI$ d ;/$ d ;0$ d :@$:$
TP?G?
*/$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 FR G?I?TA]B? RD?B =I @P?=G JA>FB=I?
EFFBg
;G?$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB @F @P? IDL]?G FR
JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@> @PA@ @P?Q HG?A@?M MDG=IJ @P? JA>FB=I?
HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FMg
*?H$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB @F @P? IDL]?G FR
JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@>5 =I G?>E?H@ FR @P? JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FM5
@PA@ @P?Q G?H?=K?M =I @GAM?g
<G$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB @F @P? IDL]?G FR
JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@>5 =I G?>E?H@ FR @P? JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FM5
@PA@ @P?Q @GAI>R?GG?M =I @GAM? @F AIF@P?G EG=LAGQ >DEEB=?Gg

19
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2010/2010-09-01/html/sor-dors189-eng.html.
20
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2010/2010-09-01/pdf/g2-14418.pdf.


2u


;AI$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB @F @P? IDL]?G FR
JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@>5 =I G?>E?H@ FR @P? JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FM5
@PA@ @P?Q AG? G?bD=G?M @F HAIH?Bg
;/$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB @F @P? IDL]?G FR
JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@> @PA@ @P?Q HAGG=?M RFGTAGM =I@F @P? JA>FB=I?
HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FMg
;0$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB @F @P? IDL]?G FR
JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@> @PA@ @P?Q HAGG=?M ]AHS =I@F @P? JA>FB=I?
HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FM5 L=ID> @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB
@F @P? IDL]?G FR JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@> @PA@ @P?Q HAGG=?M ]AHS RGFL
@P? JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FM =I@F @P? EG?H?M=IJ JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH?
E?G=FMg AIM
:@$:$ => @P? KFBDL?5 ?fEG?>>?M =I B=@G?>5 @PA@ => ?bDAB @F @P? IDL]?G5 =R
AIQ5 FR M=>@=BBA@? HFLEB=AIH? DI=@> @PA@ @P?Q A>>=JI A> @P? KABD? RFG
:@$:$ RFG @P? JA>FB=I? HFLEB=AIH? E?G=FMC
This piovision is not at all atypical of the complexity founu in the legal stanuaius anu
iegulations goveining biofuels elsewheie in Canaua, oi aiounu the woilu foi that mattei.
Seveial Canauian piovinces have manuates that pieuate the feueial RFS, oi that have been
subsequently uevelopeu. Piovincial manuates, howevei, aie not well cooiuinateu with, let
alone integiateu into, the feueial policy. Foi example, manuatoiy piopoitions of ienewable
fuels apply baseu on volumes useu oi solu, not volumes piouuceu oi impoiteu. Noi aie
piovincial manuates cooiuinateu with each othei. All of this makes it uifficult, foi example,
to establish tiuly integiateu maikets foi compliance unit tiauing, as envisioneu by the
feueial iegulation.
Nanitoba's RFS uates back to 2uuS, when 8S% of gasoline solu hau to contain 1u% ethanol,
a iequiiement that was nevei enfoiceu uue to a lack of piouuction capacity (Laan ?@ ABC
2uu9, 28). Cuiiently, Nanitoba's %@PAIFB $?I?GAB *?JDBA@=FI, enableu by its afoiementioneu
0=FRD?B> "H@, calls foi an 8.S% blenu.
21
Saskatchewan's RFS, <P? %@PAIFB /D?B _$?I?GAB`
*?JDBA@=FI>, is peihaps the simplest RFS in the countiy, containing seven stiaightfoiwaiu
sections the effect of which is to set the blenuing manuate at 7.S%. That is up fiom the 1%
that hau been pieviously manuateu in Saskatchewan (Ahn-Thu ?@ ABC 2uu8, Su). While
Nanitoba anu Saskatchewan have cieateu theii RFS in oiuei to piomote local inuustiy,

21
http://www.canlii.org/en/mb/laws/regu/man-reg-165-2007/64887/man-reg-165-2007.html.


21


0ntaiio anu Biitish Columbia state theii piime objectives to be uhu ieuuctions (Wilms
2u1u, 7).
Biitish Columbia's manuate is ueiiveu fiom iegulations accompanying the $G??IPFD>? $A>
*?MDH@=FI _*?I?TA]B? AIM #FT ;AG]FI /D?B *?bD=G?L?I@>` "H@.
22
These iegulations iequiie
S% ienewable content in gasoline. The initiative was 1S yeais in the making; a law was
oiiginally pioposeu in 199S anu ieintiouuceu in 2uu4 (Ahn-Thu 2uu8, S2), befoie finally
passing in 2uu8 anu coming into foice in 2u1u.
As of 2uu7, The %@PAIFB =I $A>FB=I?
2S
iegulation in 0ntaiio, enacteu puisuant to the
%IK=GFIL?I@AB -GF@?H@=FI "H@, iequiies S% ethanol by volume of gasoline solu in the
piovince. Inteiestingly, only in 0ntaiio aie uiffeiences asciibeu to cellulosic anu non-
cellulosic ethanol, with the foimei counting foi 2.S times the lattei. 0ntaiio's RFS hau also
been unique because it specifically cioss-iefeiences quality contiols thiough thiiu-paity
stanuaius: "No peison shall uistiibute ethanol-blenueu gasoline foi use oi sale in 0ntaiio
unless the ethanol-blenueu gasoline meets the stanuaius anu specifications set out in
Canauian ueneial Stanuaius Boaiu (C.u.S.B.) uocument CANCuSB-S.S11 oi the Ameiican
Society foi Testing anu Nateiials (A.S.T.N.) uocument ASTNBS798-99."
24
Albeita's new
RFS contains a similai piovision.
Albeita is the piovince to most iecently auopt a RFS, anu thiough the *?I?TA]B? /D?B>
.@AIMAGM *?JDBA@=FI accompanying the ;B=LA@? ;PAIJ? AIM %L=>>=FI> 9AIAJ?L?I@ "H@,
2S

has imposeu a S% manuate effective in 2u11, along the lines of Canaua's feueial RFS. A key
uiffeience, howevei, is that Albeita will not count content as ienewable unless a minimum
2S% ieuuction in uhu emissions intensity ielative to gasoline can be uemonstiateu ovei
the lifecycle of piouuction anu consumption. Compliance with that stanuaiu is measuieu in
accoiuance with yet anothei sepaiate instiument, Albeita's *?I?TA]B? /D?B> $G??IPFD>?
$A> %L=>>=FI> %B=J=]=B=@Q .@AIMAGM,
26
which it shoulu be noteu uses uiffeient foimulas anu
methous than the many othei instiuments useu in uiffeient juiisuictions aiounu the woilu.


22
S.B.C. 2008, c. 16, http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/laws/stat/sbc-2008-c-16/latest/sbc-2008-c-16.html;
http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-394-2008/52546/bc-reg-394-2008.html.
23
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_050535_e.htm.
24
s. 2(1).
25
http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/regu/alta-reg-29-2010/latest/alta-reg-29-2010.html.
26
http://www.energy.alberta.ca/BioEnergy/pdfs/GHGEmissionsStandard.pdf.


22


The 0niteu States' RFS stems fiom iegulations piomulgateu unuei the %I?GJQ -FB=HQ "H@ of
2uuS
27
anu the %I?GJQ .?HDG=@Q AIM ,IM?E?IM?IH? "H@ of 2uu7.
28
These iegulations aie also
among the woilu's most iecently upuateu; in }uly 2u1u the seconu veision, RFS2, (fuithei
upuateu in Becembei 2u1u) ieplaceu the fiist veision, RFS1, that hau been in place since
Nay 2uu7.
29
The cuiient manuate iequiies that by 2u22 a total of S6 billion gallons of
ienewables be blenueu into tianspoit fuels pei yeai. Foi 2u1u, the iequiiement was 12.9S
billion gallons, which equalleu 8.2S% of the volume of gasoline anu uiesel iefineu anu
impoiteu in the 0niteu States. Inteiestingly, volume stanuaius aie imposeu foi paiticulai
categoiies of ienewable fuels, incluuing cellulosic biofuel, biomass-baseu uiesel anu
auvanceu biofuel. To qualify within these categoiies, fuels must meet ceitain ciiteiia foi
ieuuctions in uhu emissions ueteimineu thiough lifecycle analysis. With the exception of
gianufatheieu facilities constiucteu befoie 2uu7, all ienewable fuels must ieuuce uhu
emissions by at least 2u% compaieu to the 2uuS baseline aveiage gasoline oi uiesel fuel it
ieplaces. To fall unuei the "auvanceu" anu "biomass-baseu uiesel" categoiies, ieuuctions
must be Su%, anu foi the "cellulosic" categoiy, 6u%. 0bviously, the methouology useu by
the Enviionmental Piotection Agency (EPA) to aiiive at these calculations is extiemely
impoitant, although it is not the same as methous useu in othei juiisuictions.
The Euiopean 0nion's new *?I?TA]B? %I?GJQ :=G?H@=K? of 2uu9
Su
anu associateu
iegulations iely on a uiffeient methou to ueteimine minimum uhu ieuuctions fiom
biofuels as pait of bioauei "sustainability" stanuaius (Swinbank 2uu9). Like all E0
uiiectives, this is a supianational law that iequiies E0 Nembei States to take uiiect action
to ensuie minimum piopoitionate use of ienewable veisus non-ienewable eneigy. It
ieplaces an eailiei uiiective, the 0=FRD?B> :=G?H@=K? of 2uuS,
S1
which hau manuateu a S.7S%
maiket shaie foi biofuels by 2u1u. }ung ?@C ABC (2u1u, 2S) point out that most Nembei States
woulu fail to achieve this taiget. Neveitheless, the upuateu 2uu9 uiiective iaises the bai to
iequiie by 2u2u a 2u% shaie of all eneigy consumeu in the E0. The tianspoit sectoi
specifically must meet a 1u% manuate, though this incluues not just biofuels but all
ienewables incluuing foi example electiicity foi iail oi auto tianspoitation.

27
Public Law 109-58, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-109publ58/content-detail.html.
28
Public Law 110-140, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-110publ140/content-detail.html.
29
See http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm.
30
Directive 2009/28/EC, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32009L0028:EN:NOT.
31
Directive 2003/30/EC, http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:123:0042:0042:EN:PDF


2S


Seconu-geneiation biofuels count uouble towaiu the 1u% minimum, but some putatively
ienewable souices of eneigy that uo not meet ceitain sustainability ciiteiia will not count
at all. While the 0S RFS2 calls foi a minimum uhu ieuuction of 2u% foi oiuinaiy biofuels
(anu moie foi ceitain types of biofuels), the E0 Biiective iequiies foi all biofuels a
ieuuction of SS% immeuiately, Su% fiom 2u17 anu 6u% fiom 2u18. Noieovei, qualifying
biofuels cannot be piouuceu on lanus with high biouiveisity value, high caibon stock oi
peatlanu. 0ngoing ieviews will consiuei whethei to evaluate othei issues as well, such as
lanu-use change iesulting fiom biofuels anu, ielateu to that, the impact of biofuels on foou
piices.
Sustainability stanuaius uo not cuiiently exist, but coulu be consiueieu foi auoption, in
Canaua. The most iecent amenuments to the ;AIAM=AI %IK=GFIL?I@AB -GF@?H@=FI "H@ give
the feueial goveinment the powei to not only cieate iegulations on the blenuing of biofuels
but also to cieate classes of iegulateu entities, which woulu allow specific iegulations
taigeteu by feeustock type oi piouuction capacity, anu to inquiie into enviionmental anu
health impacts of biofuels piouuction (Willms 2u1u, 9).
.1.<",&"0,#,<2 ;%*<,/,;"<,)& "&: #"0%##,&$ ,&,<,"<,!%.
Renewable fuel stanuaius seem to be the epicentie of uebates about sustainability.
Sheehan (2uu9) tiaces the iecent histoiy, giowing complexity anu incieasing ambition of
lifecycle analyses. Be also notes that this tool touches on only one small aspect of the most
common uefinition of sustainability (WCEB 1987), anu ignoies othei impoitant questions
like the impact of biofuels on watei secuiity, ecosystem health, biouiveisity anu social
issues like laboui anu human iights.
The potential illegality of these lattei aspects of such sustainability stanuaius unuei
inteinational tiaue iules, uiscusseu in uetail latei in this papei, is one explanation foi the
skeweu emphasis. That is paiticulaily tiue with iespect to >FH=AB sustainability stanuaius
(Chainovitz ?@ ABC 2uu8). Anothei possible explanation is simply the peiception of
impoitance. Foi example, one stuuy askeu expeits to iank the ielevance, piacticality,
ieliability anu impoitance of SS of the many sustainability ciiteiia being uiscusseu by
vaiious oiganizations (Buchholz ?@ ABC 2uu9; see also Naikevicius ?@ ABC2u1u). Eneigy anu
uhu balances came out as the top two most impoitant consiueiations.
Sustainability stanuaius aie just beginning to emeige in the biofuels policy liteiatuie as a
uisciete topic of inquiiy (see, foi example, Lewanuowski anu Faaij 2uu6; Naikevicius ?@ ABC
2u1u; Scailat 2u11; 0NCTAB 2uu8; van Bam ?@ ABC 2uu8; van Bam ?@ ABC 2u1u). Repoits on
iecent uevelopments aie, unfoitunately, somewhat uiscouiaging. van Bam ?@ ABC (2u1u)
have iecently upuateu theii eailiei woik (van Bam ?@ ABC 2uu8) with a suivey 67 uiffeient
ongoing ceitification initiatives--a "stiong inciease" in the numbei of initiatives since 2uu7-
-which uespite piolifeiation, still fail to auequately auuiess key issues.


24


Some key initiatives aie, of couise, the iesult of national, supia-national oi sub-national
policies foimulateu by goveinments. The sustainability ciiteiia in the EC's *?I?TA]B?
%I?GJQ :=G?H@=K?, uiscusseu above, is a goou example. While E0 Nembei States aie obligeu
to auheie to these ciiteiia, vaiious countiies such as the Netheilanus, the 0niteu Kinguom,
ueimany anu otheis have intiouuceu sustainability stanuaius on a national level. This
phenomenon is ieplicateu in the 0niteu States, with minimum uhu ieuuctions imposeu
feueially thiough RFS2 anu vaiious othei ciiteiia applying at the state level in places like
Nassachusetts anu Califoinia. In Canaua, a woiking gioup has been foimeu anu begun
ueveloping anu consulting on guiuing piinciples foi sustainable biofuels. van Bam ?@ ABC
(2u1u, 2448) iepoit that New Biunswick is the only piovince that has foiest management
guiuelines goveining biomass iemoveu foi eneigy, which is inteiesting because that is one
of the piovinces that has IF@ implementeu a ienewable fuel manuate to uiive piovincial
uemanu foi biofuels.
Consistent with the analytical focus in this papei on goveinance, not just goveinments, it is
ciucial to note the influence of a wiue vaiiety of intei- anu non-goveinmental actois on
sustainability ciiteiia. Seveial inteinational oiganizations, foi example, aie veiy active on
this issue. van Bam ?@ ABC (2u1u, 2448-9) mention initiatives by Inteinational 0iganization
foi Stanuaiuization (IS0), Euiopean Committee foi Stanuaiuization (CEN), the ulobal
Bioeneigy Paitneiship (uBEP), Rounutable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), Intei-Ameiican
Bevelopment Bank (IBB), 0niteu Nations Enviionmental Piogiam (0NEP) anu 0N-Eneigy,
a 0niteu Nations inteiagency cooiuination mechanism.
Leauing aiticles anu iepoits also uesciibe the iole of piivate companies, inuustiy
associations anu civil society in goveining sustainability (van Bam ?@ ABC 2u1u, 2449-Su).
uioups like the Council on Sustainable Biomass Piouuction, in Noith Ameiica, anu the
Woilu Wilulife Funu, woiluwiue, aie attempting multi-stakeholuei engagement.
Neanwhile, seveial piivate sectoi oiganizations aie bianuing maiket signals to uiive
consumei uemanu foi ielatively moie sustainable goous anu seivices. Select examples
incluue 'Ecologo' in Noith Ameiica anu 'E0uENE' in Euiope. Some schemes bianu foi enu
consumeis, while otheis aie useu foi business-to-business maiketing. Seveial piivate fiims
anu consultancies have cieateu theii own systems, such as the 'uieen uolu Label' anu the
'Inteinational Sustainability anu Caibon Ceitification.'
Though these aie all ostensibly inuepenuent fiom any paiticulai goveinment, it is
impoitant to iealize that they uepenu on appiopiiate intellectual piopeity fiamewoiks
enabling piivate actois to piotect theii tiauemaiks oi ceitification maiks. In othei woius,
at least some of the stanuaius vying to become the global uefault aie piopiietaiy, so theie
may be vesteu inteiests piomoting theii auoption as wiuely as possible.


2S


Cumulatively, these vaiious ceitification schemes auuiess a veiy wiue iange of matteis.
Scailat anu Ballemanu (2u11) analyze how some systems ueal with a specific sectoi, like
agiicultuie oi foiestiy, while some have specific puiposes, like faii tiaue oi oiganic
agiicultuie. The same authois suggest that the piimaiy motivation is health anu safety
thiough agiicultuial ceitification schemes, iesouice management thiough foiestiy
stanuaius, anu eneigy secuiity anu climate change thiough bioeneigy policies. Biffeient
oiganizations simply have uiffeient piioiities (van Bam ?@ ABC, 2u1u, 24S2).
This is a challenge, because it means in piactice that agiicultuie anu foiestiy ceitification
schemes iaiely (but sometimes) auuiess issues such as caibon conseivation anu uhu
emissions, while bioeneigy policy initiatives iaiely (but sometimes) tackle health anu
safety conceins. Socio-economic consiueiations like uevelopment, laboui conuitions, oi
piopeity anu human iights aie anothei mattei altogethei. Few if any oiganizations take a
cooiuinateu view of the ueep anu complex inteiconnections amongst all of these biofuels-
ielateu issues.
van Bam ?@ ABC (2u1u, 2449) uevelop an inteiesting taxonomy of issue-focus by geogiaphic
iegion. Sustainability ciiteiia in China, foi example, tenu to piioiitize biofuels competition
with foou, while in South-East Asia the emphasis is on foou anu the enviionment. Biazilian
stanuaius focus on socio-economic impacts. In South Afiica anu Nozambique, foou anu
socio-economic issues aie auuiesseu. Noith Ameiican sustainability policies covei
conceins about the enviionment anu foou secuiity. 0nly in Euiope uo van Bam ?@ ABC
suggest theie is a ielatively compiehensive stiategy to confiont enviionmental, foou anu
socio-economic issues.
Seveial initiatives uiiectly set theii own stanuaius foi biofuels feeustock oi biofuels. 0theis
auopt a meta-stanuaiu appioach that attempts to enuoise existing stanuaius. Nonitoiing
anu compliance mechanisms also vaiy significantly, using one oi moie techniques
incluuing, foi lifecycle uhu emission analysis as an example, 'tiack-anu-tiace,' 'mass
balance' anu 'book-anu-claim.' These might opeiate inteinationally, iegionally oi
nationally. Sometimes these cioss-iefeience, oi aie cioss-iefeienceu by, foimal laws anu
policies in uiffeient juiisuictions, like the ;FIK?I@=FI FI 0=FBFJ=HAB :=K?G>=@Q (CBB) oi E0
*?I?TA]B? %I?GJQ :=G?H@=K?.
The list of topics coveieu by one oi moie ceitification systems incluues caibon emissions,
biouiveisity conseivation, soil management, watei use, aii quality, anu much moie. So what
is the iesult of all this. Accoiuing to Scailat anu Ballemanu (2u11, 1S), uhu emissions, foou
secuiity anu lanu use change "aie not satisfactoiily auuiess by all of the existing
ceitification systems." Similaily, van Bam ?@ ABC (2u1u, 2468) point out: "uespite ongoing
effoits, a uiveisification between initiatives in methouologies anu uefault values foi
calculating the uBu balance anu caibon sinks continue to exist. These methouological


26


uiffeiences aie also visible in appioaches to safeguaiu biouiveisity conseivation." They auu
that existing systems tenu to have a micio-focus, meaning that "inteiation between factois
anu impacts on micio- anu meso-level is cuiiently haiuly auuiesseu."
In sum, goveinance of biofuels' sustainability though multiple ceitification systems coulu
leau to competition anu impiovement, oi piolifeiation coulu unueimine confiuence anu
manageability anu leau to stanuaiu-shopping. 0ptions to auuiess this pioblem incluue
establishing a oveiaiching meta-stanuaiu, a new compiehensive stanuaiu oi linking acioss
existing stanuaius. Wheie anu how this will play out iemains to be seen.
0ne key question going foiwaiu, howevei, is whethei sustainability ciiteiia will be applieu
only to biofuels oi moie bioauly. The weight of expeit anu scholaily opinion, incluuing this
authoi's opinion, suggests it woulu be unfaii, ineffective anu possibly illegal to impose
sustainability ciiteiia on the biofuels inuustiy while leaving its competitois subject to
lowei stanuaius, oi none at all. Scailet anu Ballemanu (2u11, 14), foi example, point out
that "a ceitification scheme establisheu on the basis of the final use of a ciop might be
highly ineffective ... |, anuj applying a uouble-stanuaiu policy between biofuel anu
fooufeeufibie piouuction is veiy likely to leau to inuiiect uisplacement effects." That
uoes not mean sustainability stanuaius shoulu not be uevelopeu anu enfoiceu; to the
contiaiy, they shoulu apply consistently acioss all ielateu inuustiies anu sectois.
Anothei issue woith mentioning is how the costs of compliance with sustainability
stanuaius will be uistiibuteu. 0NCTAB (2uu8) has uone a paiticulaily goou job thinking
about whethei anu how ceitification ciiteiia might uispiopoitionately buiuen biofuels
piouuceis fiom ueveloping anu least uevelopeu countiies compaieu to inuustiializeu
countiies, anu smallholueis compaieu to laige-scale enteipiises. The coiollaiy to that
enquiiy is whethei anu how such ciiteiia aie compatible, oi incompatible, with
inteinational law. That is the next majoi piece of the biofuels goveinance puzzle auuiesseu
in this papei.
INTERNATI0NAL TRABE u0vERNANCE ISS0ES
TBE WT0
A collision between biofuels anu inteinational tiaue law has been foieseen. Expeits such as
Keii anu Loppachei (2uuS) have iaiseu possible issues aiounu subsiuies, biotechnological
innovation, taiiffs anu maiket access anu technical baiiieis to tiaue, concluuing that theie
is "consiueiable potential" foi costly uelays, suboptimal investment levels anu stifleu
maiket potential. At the time of that pieuiction, just ovei five yeais ago, inteinational tiaue
in biofuels was small, but significant oppoitunities weie iuentifieu foi tiauitional
agiicultuial piouuct expoiteis like the 0niteu States anu Canaua (ibiu., S2). 0thei scholais


27


suggesteu aiounu the same time that the most piomising giowth oppoitunities belong to
ueveloping countiies that have laige aiable lanumass, long giowing seasons anu low laboui
costs (Bowse et. al. 2uu6, S). The piomise of biofuels expoits fiom ueveloping countiies is
compounueu by the extiemely ambitious ienewable fuel uemanu manuates auopteu by the
woilu's laigest eneigy consumeis, the 0niteu States anu Euiopean 0nion, which aie likely
impossible to satisfy thiough uomestic piouuction alone, iegaiuless of biotechnological
innovation.
Who benefits iemains to be seen, but it is highly likely that the volume anu economic value
of inteinational tiaue in biofuels will iise uiamatically in the immeuiate futuie. As Bowse
et. al. (2uu6, 4) explain, "the simple logic of uemanu anu supply is likely to leau to incieaseu
tiaue flows of bio- fuels anu theii feeustocks." Anu, they auu (at page 6): "Even supposing
that futuie tiaue in biofuels iemains limiteu, the consiueiable inciease in by-piouucts,
whethei livestock feeu oi biobaseu piouucts, may leau to piotectionist piessuies, the
uistoition of woilu maikets, anu the neeu to consiuei appiopiiate WT0 uisciplines." Zah
anu Ruuuy (2uu9, S1) succinctly highlight the impoitance of this topic in theii intiouuction
to iecent special issue of the }ouinal of Cleanei Piouuction on the subject of inteinational
tiaue in biofuels: "This global tiaue in biofuels ... will have a majoi impact not only on othei
commouity maikets like vegetable oils oi animal fouuei but also on the global lanu use
change anu on enviionmental impacts." This aspect of biofuels goveinance, theiefoie, is not
simply a niche best left to lawyeis oi technociats.
The liteiatuie on inteinational tiaue law goveining biofuels geneially iuentifies moie oi
less of the same coie issues, though uiffeient scholais classify these issues uiffeiently. The
taxonomy auopteu in this papei uistinguishes the main tiaue goveinance mechanisms
ielateu to: taiiffs, subsiuies anu stanuaius. In this uiscussion, howevei, cioss-iefeience anu
oveilap is unavoiuable. Examining biofuels anu tiaue law, wiite Bowse ?@C ABC (2uu6, S), is
theiefoie "a iathei complex unueitaking."
<"*,//.
It makes sense to stait with the uiscussion of taiiffs with iefeience to the issue of piouuct
classification, because the classification of biofuels also affects the tieatment of othei key
issues, such as subsiuies anu agiicultuial commitments. That is, biofuels woulu be tieateu
uiffeiently unuei all of these iules if they aie ueemeu to be inuustiial, agiicultuial oi
enviionmental piouucts, anu also uiffeiently uepenuing on the categoiy within those
iubiics in which biofuels fall.
Classification is initially most impoitant foi the ueteimination of the "bounu iate," which is
the maximum taiiff that can be legally applieu to a categoiy of goous, puisuant to Aiticle II
of the ueneial Agieement on Taiiffs anu Tiaue (uATT). The bounu iate applies on a "most
favouieu nation" basis, which means that the iate offeieu by any paiticulai can be lowei


28


than the cap committeu to, but the same lowei iate must be applieu to goous fiom all
membeis of the WT0, iegaiuless of each othei membeis' paiticulai taiiffs oi policies.
Not suipiisingly, inteinational tiaue law is slightly moie complex than that, because theie
aie numeious exceptions, foi example foi bilateial anu iegional fiee tiaue agieements oi
the systems of piefeiences foi ueveloping countiies unuei ceitain ciicumstances. The
Euiopean Community may allow, anu uoes allow, unuei WT0 iules piefeiential, uuty fiee
impoits of biofuels fiom the gioup of Afiican, Caiibbean anu Pacific countiies, anu the 0S
uoes the same unuei its Caiibbean Basin Initiative. Biofuels aie not incluueu in the 0S
"ueneializeu System of Piefeiences" foi ueveloping countiies, but they aie incluueu in the
EC scheme (Bowse ?@C AB 2uu6, 14). Such systems aie veiy complex; the point of mentioning
them heie is meiely to expiess the caveat that the following uiscussion necessaiily
oveisimplifies the legal anu economic issues.
0utsiue of these exceptions, goveinance of the classification system that ueteimines the
legality of taiiffs unuei WT0 iules is actually uiiven by anothei oiganisation altogethei, the
Woilu Customs 0iganisation (WC0). The piocess anu stiuctuies of the WC0 ueteimine the
"Baimoniseu Commouity Besciiption anu Couing System," oi Baimonizeu System, oi even
just BS. Six-uigit coues aie cieateu foi each categoiy of piouucts, with the possibility left
open to cieate sub-categoiies by appenuing two oi foui moie uigits. Taiiffs foi piouucts
within the top-level categoiy, as well as all "like" piouucts, cannot exceeu the bounu iate
foi the categoiy.
Bowse ?@C ABC (2uu6, 1u) pioviue a conciete example of how 0.S. ethanol taiiffs in the 198us
ian afoul of this iule by applying a Su pei cent pei gallon taiiff to RD?B ethanol, but not ABB
ethanol falling unuei the BS heauings that existeu (anu still exist) foi ethanol geneially.
That was cleaily illegal, although the 0S coulu have uone the opposite by applying a lowei
taiiff to fuel ethanol than othei ethanol as long that lowei iate applieu to fuel ethanol fiom
all WT0 membeis. It is a pioblem, accoiuing to those authois, that theie aie not sepaiate
categoiies foi ethanol baseu on its enu uses, such as fuel oi beveiages oi meuical supplies,
but iathei categoiies uefineu on chemical composition, uiffeientiating unuenatuieu anu
uenatuieu ethanol, which aie BS heauings 22u7.1u anu 22u7.2u. Biffeientiation accoiuing
to enu use, though uifficult but not impossible to auministei anu enfoice in piactice, woulu
enable countiies to bettei align theii taiiffs with biofuel policy objectives, anu make
measuiing the inteinational tiaue of biofuels simplei.
As inteinational law cuiiently stanus, Steenblik (2uu7, 2) obseives: "Boiuei piotection,
mainly in the foim of taiiffs on ethanol, has pioviueu a piotective baiiiei behinu which
uomestic piouuceis have thiiveu. Biazilian expoiteis, in paiticulai, face taiiffs that auu at
least 2S peicent to the piice of theii piouuct in the 0niteu States, anu ovei Su peicent in
the Euiopean 0nion." In contiast, petioleum faces no oi veiy low taiiffs, at least in Noith


29


Ameiica, which has a uistoiting effect on global eneigy maikets (Keii anu Loppachei 2uuS,
S6).
As well as ueteimining the bounu iate foi taiiffs on classes of like piouucts unuei the
uATT, the WC0's BS heauings also impact classification schemes auopteu in othei legal
agieements, such as the WT0 Agieement on Agiicultuie (AoA). The AoA applies, natuially,
to agiicultuial piouucts, which aie uefineu to incluue, among othei things, piouucts falling
unuei BS Chaptei 1-24. That incluues ethanol. That uoes not, howevei, incluue biouiesel,
which falls unuei Chaptei S8. So, ethanol is legally classifieu as an agiicultuial goou while
biouiesel is an inuustiial goou, even though both aie commonly piouuceu fiom agiicultuial
feeustocks. That has significant consequences foi, among othei things, the legalities of the
many biofuels subsiuies anu suppoits, puisuant to othei agieements uiscusseu below.
Fuithei complicating matteis, note Bowse ?@C ABC (2uu6, 1u), is the possibility that eithei oi
both kinus of biofuels might alteinatively be classifieu as enviionmental goous, which aie
the subject of othei, sepaiate negotiations in the WT0 Committee on Tiaue anu
Enviionment (CTE). Anu even if all biofuels weie classifieu as agiicultuial piouucts
uistoitions might still occui on the basis of uiffeiential tieatment of feeustocks, as theie aie
consiueiable uiffeiences in the taiiff iates, foi example, foi oils piouuceu fiom sunfloweis,
soybeans, sugai cane anu canola (Keii anu Loppachei 2uuS, S7).
.10.,:,%.
Subsiuies is one of the paiticulai issues within inteinational tiaue law ieceiving specific
attention fiom ieseaicheis iecently (see, foi example, Baimei 2uu9). The classification of
biofuels unuei the WC0's Baimonizeu System ueteimines, in auuition to the WT0 uATT
taiiff issues just uiscusseu, the legal obligations ielateu to many goveinment suppoit
piogiams unuei the also afoiementioneu WT0 AoA, as well as the WT0 Subsiuies anu
Counteivailing Neasuies (SCN) Agieement. So, because ethanol anu biouiesel aie classifieu
so uiffeiently unuei the Baimonizeu System, theii tieatment unuei these othei legal
agieements is also uiffeient.
The SCN Agieement uistinguishes among thiee categoiies of subsiuies that aie eithei
piohibiteu, actionable oi non-actionable. Subsiuies offeieu foi expoiting piouucts aie
piohibiteu, anu so aie subsiuies contingent on the use of uomestic insteau of foieign
piouucts. Subsiuies that have auveise tiaue effects aie actionable, meaning othei WT0
membeis can make a complaint oi impose counteivailing uuties. Subsiuies that uo not have
auveise tiaue effects aie not actionable. Auveise effects incluue injuiy to uomestic
competitois with piouucts like the foieign, subsiuiseu piouuct, anu a iange of othei haims
oi seiious piejuuice such as piouuct uisplacement oi piice oi maiket shaie uistoitions.
Significantly complicating this ueteimination is the fact that subsiuies may have auveise
effects not on the subsiuiseu piouuct uiiectly, but on co-piouucts, by-piouucts oi upstieam


Su


oi uownstieam piouucts -- a ieal issue in the context of biofuels feeustocks anu by-
piouucts.
But the question anteceuing all that is whethei a paiticulai goveinment suppoit is,
accoiuing to legal uefinitions, a subsiuy oi something else. That uepenus on whethei theie
is a financial contiibution by the goveinment (incluuing cash payments, tax concessions,
ievenues foiegone oi othei contiibutions) anu a benefit giving a specific iecipient oi
iecipients a competitive auvantage. Numeious expeits point out that this issue is also often
uifficult to ueteimine, especially in an inuustiy like biofuels wheie peivasive goveinment
inteivention has eioueu any meaningful benchmaik of what the maiket might otheiwise
look like (see, foi example, Bowse ?@C ABC 2uu6, 17).
While the SCN ueals with seveial aspects of subsiuies, othei aspects aie auuiesseu by the
AoA. Bioauly speaking, WT0 membeis agieeu to ieuuce ovei time fiom vaiious baselines
each goveinment's "Total Aggiegate Neasuie of Suppoit" foi agiicultuial inuustiies, in
oiuei to level the playing fielu foi woilu maikets. Suppoits aie classifieu in uiffeient coloui
"boxes" uepenuing on how much they'ie ueemeu to uistoit piouuction anu tiaue. Suppoits
that uistoit minimally oi not at all, anu meet specifieu ciiteiia to piove that fact, go in the
"gieen box." They uo not count towaiu the total aggiegate measuie of goveinment suppoit.
Suppoits that uo uistoit tiaue go in the "ambei box," which is then on aggiegate subject to
the vaiious goveinments' cap anu ieuuction commitments.
Beie is the pioblem with the AoA system as applieu to biofuels, as alluueu to in a iepoit
fiom the 0niteu States Bepaitment of Agiicultuie (2uu6, 18): The AoA measuies the sum of
suppoits foi vaiious piouucts by basically auopting the piouucts' WC0 BS classification.
But goveinment suppoits foi biofuels usually apply to the inuustiy, not the piouuct, =C?C
feeustocks like coin oi canola oi sugaicane oi soybeans. The question, theiefoie, is uo
suppoits foi the inuustiy opeiate at least in pait to confei suppoit on such agiicultuial
piouucts.
uoveinment suppoit foi uomestic biofuels inuustiies also comes often in the foim of laige-
scale investment in ieseaich anu uevelopment. Such investments woulu not iun afoul of
inteinational tiaue laws (anu belong in the gieen box unuei the AoA system) DIB?>> the
knowleuge anu technology geneiateu is laigely piopiietaiy to uomestic fiims, as opposeu
to openly accessible to the geneial public incluuing foieigneis. Bowse ?@C ABC (2uu6, 1S)
point out that this assumption is uifficult to substantiate; in fact those authois aie coiiect
to be suspicious because R&B suppoiteis noimally expect to see exclusive intellectual
piopeity iights acciuing to uomestic fiims as a iesult of theii investment. (Recall fiom the
uiscussion eailiei in this papei that intellectual piopeity iights aie changing biofuels
goveinance quite significantly thiough piivate oiueiing.)


S1


Bowse ?@C ABC (2uu6, 19-22) uo excellent woik illustiating legal implications of many kinus
of biofuels suppoit mechanisms uiscusseu thioughout this papei, incluuing piouuction anu
consumption subsiuies foi biofuels anu theii feeustocks anu cioss-subsiuies foi byco-
piouucts. They show that, not suipiisingly, theie aie many seiious anu complicateu issues
that coulu possibly if not ceitainly cause foimal uisputes to aiise in the neai futuie. Inueeu,
subsiuies is an issue that has alieauy attiacteu some sabie-iattling aiounu inteinational
tiaue law (Baimei 2uu9, 12-1S). Foi instance, when Ameiican iefineis uevelopeu a
piactice calleu the "splash-anu-uash" -- impoit foieign uiesel, auu a splash of biouiesel,
claim a tax cieuit anu then ie-expoit the enu piouuct -- the E0 complaineu anu levelleu
auuitional uuties on biouiesel impoits fiom the 0S. As anothei example, both Biazil anu
Canaua have alieauy askeu the WT0 to consiuei the legality of a iange of suppoits
pioviueu by the 0niteu States to its uomestic agiicultuial piouuceis, especially coin
piouuceis. These kinus of issues aie likely to aiise much moie fiequently in the futuie.
.<"&:"*:.
Taiiffs anu subsiuies aie not the only measuies goveinments might use that constiain
libeialisation of the multilateial tiauing system. In fact, these may no longei be the most
impoitant measuies. Incieasingly, vaiiable technical stanuaius anu iegulations goveining
matteis such as piouuct specifications, labelling iequiiements oi health anu safety
conceins act as significant baiiieis to tiaue. The challenge foi inteinational tiaue law is to
balance the uesiie foi woilu tiaue libeialization with iespect foi goveinment's soveieign
iight to iegulate inteinal affaiis. These kinus of issues, theiefoie, aie auuiesseu thiough
WT0 agieements incluuing the uATT as well as the Technical Baiiieis to Tiaue (TBT)
Agieement anu the Sanitaiy anu Phytosanitaiy Neasuies (SPS) Agieement. The
funuamental piinciple unueilying these agieements is the piinciple of non-uisciimination
(Bowse ?@C ABC 2uu6, 22).
Foi many inteinal measuies, the iequiiement is not to uisciiminate between foieign anu
uomestic piouucts that aie "like" each othei. Whethei piouucts aie like each othei not
uepenus on theii physical chaiacteiistics, enu uses anu consumei habits. The iule, then, is
that foieign piouucts cannot be tieateu less favouiably than like uomestic piouucts. That
uoesn't mean that like piouucts cannot be tieateu M=RR?G?I@BQ, as long as neithei piouuct is
tieateu RAKFDGA]BQ. Piouucts might be tieateu less favouiably if, foi instance, it is moie
costly foi foieign piouuceis than uomestic piouuceis to comply with paiticulai iegulatoiy
oi technical stanuaius.
In that context, Keii anu Loppachei (2uuS, S8-S9) iefeience stanuaius auopteu puisuant
to, foi example, the ASTN, which apply to a vaiiety of chaiacteiistics such as viscosity, flash
point, cetane levels, sulfui levels anu caibon iesiuues. They also alluue to the possibility of
uiffeientiating biofuels baseu on inputs so that goveinments coulu claim, foi example, that


S2


biouiesel maue fiom soybeans is non-compliant with iegulations tailoieu to biouiesel fiom
canola, thus cieating a technical baiiiei to tiaue. Bowse ?@C ABC (2uu6, 24) list similai issues
that might aiise in iespect of biofuels stanuaius:
h LAIMA@?> @F D>? EAG@=HDBAG E?GH?I@AJ?> FG bDAI@=@=?> FR ]=FRD?B ?=@P?G =I RD?B ]B?IM> FG RFG
>E?H=R=H EDGEF>?> _>DHP A> ]D> FG @Af= RB??@>`g
h G?>@G=H@=FI> FG B=L=@> FI @P? ALFDI@ FG S=IM FR ]=FRD?B @PA@ HAI ]? HFI@A=I?M =I A ]B?IM T=@P
HFIK?I@=FIAB RD?Bg
h >E?H=R=HA@=FI> FR @P? EGFE?G@=?> FG E?GRFGLAIH? HPAGAH@?G=>@=H> FR EAG@=HDBAG ]=FRD?B> FG @P?
LA@?G=AB> @P?Q LD>@ ]? M?G=K?M RGFLg
h BA]?B=IJ X>=H[ RFG HFI>DL?G EGF@?H@=FI AIM =IRFGLA@=FI EDGEF>?>g
h P?AB@P AIM >AR?@Q G?JDBA@=FI> HFIH?GI=IJ @P? PAIMB=IJ AIM @GAI>EFG@A@=FI FR EAG@=HDBAG
]=FRD?B> FG =IED@> G?bD=G?M RFG @P? EGFH?>>=IJ FR ]=FRD?B>5 AIM G?BA@?M >E?H=R=HA@=FI> RFG
EGFH?>>=IJ EBAI@>g AIM
h ]GFAM ?IK=GFIL?I@AB E?GRFGLAIH? G?bD=G?L?I@> G?BA@?M @F @P? ?I@=G? B=R?YHQHB? FR @P?
EGFMDH@5 =IHBDM=IJ @P? >D>@A=IA]=B=@Q FR @P? AJG=HDB@DG? D>?M @F EGFMDH? @P? R??M>@FHS RGFL
TP=HP @P? ]=FRD?B => EGFH?>>?MC
The bulk of expeit attention lately has focusseu most on this last issue, in ielation to
sustainability stanuaius. That is because seveial juiisuictions have iecently auopteu
ielatively moie oi less oneious (anu almost always uiffeient if not inconsistent) stanuaius
goveining all kinus of enviionmental sustainability matteis fiom life-cycle uhu emissions
to lanu-use iestiictions. So fai, the WT0 compliance of the Euiopean 0nion's sustainability
stanuaius have ieceiveu the most specific commentaiy (Swinbank 2uu9; Switzei anu
NcNahon 2u1u), but theie is also liteiatuie auuiessing the 0S position in paiticulai (Eaily
2uu9), as well as the legality of these soits of stanuaius geneially (Ackiill anu Kay 2u1u;
Chainovitz ?@C AB. 2uu8, ue veia 2uu7; Switzei 2uu7).
Bowse et. al. (2uu6, 2S-26) summaiise the likely legality of a spectium of sustainability
measuies. At one enu of the spectium, measuies that uiffeientiate baseu on piouucts'
enviionmental impacts in the countiy of impoit anu consumption aie piobably peimitteu.
Neasuies that uiffeientiate baseu methous of piouuction, incluuing life-cycle uhu
emissions, aie slightly moie contioveisial but, in the opinion of seveial leauing expeits,
also most likely legal (Bowse et. al. 2uu6, 26). The aigument that sustainability ciiteiia
uiffeientiating baseu on life-cycle uhu emissions might constitute an illegal tiaue baiiiei
boils uown what is known as the piouuctpiocess uistinction. 0nuei the uATT, that
uistinction isn't noimally alloweu on the basis of piocessing anu piouuction methous


SS


(PPNs), leauing some scholais to aigue that stanuaius goveining emission levels,
cultivation piactices, laboui stanuaius anu any othei piouuction factois that uo not change
the enu piouuct woulu contiavene WT0 iules (Isaac anu Keii 2uuS, citeu in Keii anu
Loppachei 2uu6).
Bowevei, othei expeits, such as Bowse et. al. (2uu6, 26) have come to a uiffeient
conclusion. They emphasise that the same iules uon't necessaiily apply in all othei WT0
contexts, anu that unueilying iationale foi sustainability ciiteiia iefeiencing life-cycle uhu
emissions is veiy uiffeient fiom the motivations that leu to the initial uevelopment of the
piouuctpiocess uistinction.
At the othei enu of the spectium aie measuies that ostensibly juuge othei goveinment's
public policy piioiities by auuiessing, foi instance, laboui, piopeity oi human iights anu
othei social stanuaius. A geneial consensus seems to exist that these aie ielatively moie
uifficult to justify anu upholu than othei kinus of sustainability stanuaius. Chainovitz et. al.
(2uu8) uevote an entiie uiscussion papei to this specific topic. They point out (2uu8, 1)
that "the piesciiption by one countiy oi customs union of the social stanuaius to be
followeu by piouuceis of anothei countiy as a conuition foi access to the piesciibing
countiy oi customs union's maikets" iaises extiaoiuinaiily complex questions that
implicate not only biofuels but the bioauei uebates linking tiaue anu social issues.
0ne of the keys to upholuing the legality of any sustainability stanuaius unuei the uATT
woulu be that the ciiteiia useu to uiffeientiate piouucts is objectively veiifiable, uevelopeu
consultatively by the inteinational community anu valiuateu by stakeholueis. The moie
that systems foi ceitification piolifeiate, anu the moie conflict anu confusion that iesults,
the less likely it becomes that any paiticulai appioach can withstanu legal sciutiny. Similai
conceins coulu be iaiseu unuei the TBT Agieement, which iequiies WT0 membeis to
inteinational stanuaius wheie possible, anu in any case to use technical stanuaius that uo
not cieate unnecessaiy tiaue baiiieis. Foi example, aftei substantial analysis, Swinbank
(2uu9, x), uiaws the following concise conclusion about the legality E0's sustainability
stanuaius, though his iemaiks aie equally applicable to sustainability stanuaius moie
geneially: They can be uefenueu successfully only if "they aie non-uisciiminatoiy anu
scientifically baseu anu that they have been imposeu only aftei meaningful negotiations,
with the |juiisuiction'sj main supplieis, to uevelop inteinational stanuaius." Switzei anu
NcNahon (2u1u) go slightly fuithei anu suggest that if juiisuictions like the E0 want to
inciease the chances of a successful uefence, it shoulu initiate the necessaiy inteinational
negotiations.
An issue that has IF@ so-fai ieceiveu enough attention is the use of biotechnology,
paiticulaily genetic engineeiing, in the piouuction of feeustocks foi biofuels. These issues
aie piobably coveieu by the uATT anu the SPS Agieement, anu peihaps the TBT


S4


Agieement too, if stanuaius anu iegulations ueal with enviionmental, health anu safety
iisks anu othei unielateu issues. The SPS Agieement goes beyonu the TBT Agieement by
iequiiing that measuies not baseu on inteinational stanuaius be baseu on scientific
eviuence iationally ielateu to iisk assessment.
Nany scholais fiame this issue thiough the lens of WT0 law alone, but as Keii anu
Loppachei (2uu6) obseive, the Caitegena Piotocol on Biosafety (BSP), a Piotocol to the
Convention on Biological Biveisity (CBB) is an also impoitant of the global biofuels
goveinance pictuie. The uATT anu the BSP appioach the issue of tiaue in biotechnology
piouucts fiom uiffeient peispectives anu with uiffeient objectives, with tiaue libeialisation
being the uATT's piimaiy goal anu piecaution ovei iisks thieatening biouiveisity being the
uiiving piinciple behinu the BSP. Theie is no cleai way to iesolve potential conflicts
between these goveinance instiuments.
When the uN0 issue was iaiseu at the WT0 befoie, with iespect to the EC's tieatment of
foieign biotech piouucts, a uispute settlement panel helu measuies uiu not constitute less
favouiable tieatment of foieign veisus uomestic piouucts but iathei biotech veisus non-
biotech piouucts (%; Y "EEGFKAB AIM 9AGS?@=IJ FR 0=F@?HP -GFMDH@> 2uu6). While some
measuies have been ueteimineu to be inconsistent with WT0 iules, a M? RAH@F moiatoiium
still exists that makes it uifficult foi the piouucts of agiicultuial biotechnology coming
laigely fiom Noith Ameiica to entei the Euiopean 0nion. This issue may eiupt again when
genetically mouifieu eneigy ciops aie inevitably expoiteu to Euiope. The 0niteu States
Bepaitment of Agiicultuie iecently appioveu a genetically mouifieu vaiiety of coin, calleu
"Enogen," which contains a miciobial gene piouucing an enzyme that bieaks uown staich
into sugai to make piocessing foi biofuels moie efficient (Pollack 2u11). Bow will
juiisuictions like the Euiopean 0nion ieact to such biotechnological innovations, anu will
theii applicable technical iegulations anu ielateu measuies comply with WT0 iules.
The pieceuing uiscussion is by no means exhaustive of the many WT0-ielateu issues
tiiggeieu by inteinational tiaue in biofuels (it leaves out any mention of goveinment
piocuiement issues, uATT exceptions foi public health anu enviionmental piotection, anu
many othei matteis), but it uoes pioviue a ieasonable intiouuctoiy oveiview. The WT0,
howevei, is not the only foium wheie the goveinance fiamewoiks of multiple juiisuictions
conveige. Scholais have also cioss-iefeienceu the ielevance foi biofuels of the Kyoto
Piotocol (Beshpanue 2uu6), anu by extension all iecent uevelopments in iespect of the
0niteu Nations Fiamewoik Convention on Climate Change. Anu the global goveinance of
biofuels is oi coulu be impacteu by the patchwoik of bilateial tiaue agieements anu
ongoing negotiations. The following section uses uiscussions between Canaua anu the
Euiopean 0nion towaiu a CETA as a conciete example of oppoitunities foi iegulatoiy
coopeiation.


SS


BILATERAL TRABE ANB REu0LAT0RY C00PERATI0N
Bowse et. al. (2uu6, 11-14) iaise seveial possibilities foi multilateial oi negotiateu
solutions thiough the WT0 to the inteinational biofuels goveinance challenges uesciibeu
above. Seveial authois aigue that unilateial solutions aie also legally peimitteu as a stop-
gap measuie (ue veia 2uu7; Switzei 2uu7). A miuule-giounu between a full multilateial
solution anu the unilateial imposition of stanuaius may be founu in the context of bilateial
tiaue ielations, such as those cuiiently being negotiateu between Canaua anu the
Euiopean 0nion.
The CETA coulu, in the shoit oi long teims, have significant impacts on iegulation anu
goveinance of biofuels. Though theie aie no inuications fiom the uoveinment of Canaua
anu the Euiopean Commission that biofuels aie a specific subject of negotiations in the
context of this agieement, theie is accoiuing to the public iecoiu, negotiations ovei
technical baiiieis to tiaue anu iegulatoiy coopeiation,
S2
that coulu have a palpable impact
on the issue of biofuels iegulation. Speculation anu leakeu uiafts of the CETA itself suggest
that a possible chaptei on enviionmental issues coulu also be ielevant.
SS

Casting asiue speculation about what Canaua anu the E0 aie actually uoing, theie aie
seveial possible moues of iegulation that HFDBM be useu to auuiess the issue of iegulatoiy
complexity aiounu biofuels (anu iegulatoiy complexity in geneial). Kstiic (2u1u) has
uistilleu fiom the liteiatuie on iegulatoiy coopeiation at least foui viable options.
Baimonisation involves uiffeient goveinments anu levels of goveinment auopteu the same
iules. Nutual iecognition uoes not iequiie goveinments to auopt the same iules oi
stanuaius, but it uoes iequiie that two oi moie juiisuictions will iecognise each otheis'.
Puisuing spontaneous haimonisation means that juiisuictions use iules anu pioceuuies
expecting that, ovei time, iegulatoiy objectives will oiganically align with substantive oi
pioceuuial baselines. Least ambitiously but also usefully, goveinments can agiee to shaie
infoimation about each otheis' iegulations anu stanuaius in the hope that compliance can
be maue easiei.
The fiist of these, total haimonisation, basically uesciibes the system useu to eliminate
taiiffs with the same iules ueployeu thioughout the woilu tiauing system. The Nembei
States of the E0 often use mutual iecognition as a tool foi coopeiation, as uo Canaua anu
the E0 foi seveial tiansatlantic tiaue issues. The last option mentioneu, infoimation
shaiing, is essential to the opeiation of the WT0's TBT Agieement anu SPS Agieement. So
which is best foi CETA, anu foi beginning to simplify the goveinance of biofuels in Canaua
anu the Euiopean 0nion. Kistic (2u1u, S1) ultimately iecommenus "enhanceu (oi

32
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/2010-58-e.htm,
http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/eu-ue/can-eu.aspx .
33
See www.tradejustice.ca.


S6


manageu) mutual iecognition which woulu pave the way foi a spontaneous (oi soft)
iegulatoiy haimonization, while benefiting fiom existing aiiangements anu seeking moie
coheience with the 0S (thiough national tieatment piovisions foi ceitification, inspection
pioceuuies, testing, labelling etc.)."
Whethei that occuis oi not iemains to be seen. But one thing is ceitain, which is that
Canaua anu the E0 have befoie them a significant oppoitunity to bettei iationalise biofuels
goveinance, anu at the same time, inciease the likelihoou that theii mutually iecogniseu
stanuaius anu iegulations coulu suivive sciutiny unuei the iules of the WT0.
C0NCL0SI0N
The liteiatuie on biofuels law anu policy is laige anu giowing. The issues aie complex, anu
becoming moie so. Fiaming them thiough the lens of multi-level goveinance helps to put
key piioiities into peispective, anu enables fuithei consiueiation of the best ways to
manage anu iueally impiove the biofuels iegulatoiy lanuscape.






S7
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