Bold actions to accelerate the bioeconomy: report from Ottawa meet-up of the Bold Goals Action Group

In Ottawa, on the sidelines of the Jeff Passmore’s SCALING UP meeting, a coalition of the willing known as the Bold Goals Action Group refined and amended a series of 37 Bold Actions that must be taken by industry and government in order to achieve the global timelines for Net Zero economies that address climate change and the need for resilient national economies.

The Bold Goals Action Group had its initial meet-up in Sydney in September, followed by similar meet-ups in San Francisco and Ottawa. The next meet-up will be held in Delhi on December 5th and future meetings will be conducted for Brazil, Latin America, the EU, the Middle East, Africa, East Asia and Southeast Asian partners of the coalition that will further revise and extend the Bold Actions, ready for ratification by organizations and individuals at ABLC 2024 in Washington DC on March 13th, 2023.

Here is the final draft Bold Actions report from the Ottawa meet-up.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR BIOMASS PRODUCERS

Adding sustainable, affordable, and reliable, biomass production capacity is essential for price stability, and social license.

1. We will work to expand the availability of biomass by increasing yields with sustainable and restorative agricultural practices, while expanding arable land and water, and improving soil health to bring degraded land back to production, and improve harvesting and aggregation to collect otherwise uncollectible biomass
2. We will expand capacity by the development and deployment of sustainable cash cover crops that improve soil productivity and work to remove non-price barriers that constrain cover and crops that offer sustainable rotation alternatives to fallow seasons.
3. We will drive down the cost, and work to remove non-price barriers, in the aggregation of biomass residues, especially currently available but untapped biomass.
4. We will engage with First Nations and indigenous landowners and stewards as an underutilized partners and model for land stewardship

BOLD ACTIONS FOR SUPPLY-CHAIN DEVELOPERS & OWNERS

Long distance transport of biomass feedstocks is inefficient. We will work to improve biomass supply chain management by increasing the pre-processing of feedstock near to where they are grown and harvested.

1. Feedstock pre-processing facilities will be deployed widely to simplify delivery of bio-crudes and condensed biomass to bio-refineries.
2. We will develop more reliable feedstock pre-processing and work towards a Uniform Transportable Feedstock Standard.
3. We will develop more effective and affordable use of infrastructure to transport solid, liquid and gaseous feedstocks and by-products.
4. We will work to extend the electrical grid to support a more diversified bio-refinery system and to support the development of power purchase agreements that support independently-owned power-generation facilities to distribute power to refineries on a direct basis.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR PROJECT & PROCESS DEVELOPERS We will work to re-structure molecular industries by improving the processes by which biomass is converted into the fuels, chemicals, and materials needed by society.

1. Bio-based products will be valued not only for their utility but also for their carbon intensity and societal benefits
2. We will focus in the near-term on those markets and products that offer the greatest opportunities to reduce carbon intensity, with a long-term goal of replacing all products for all markets that are made from fossil resources today.
3. We will utilize all existing programs that support development in disadvantaged communities to diversify and spread the growth of bio-based production and jobs.
4. We will support permitting reform that permits what will protect, instead of the current approach which protects that is already permitted, and we will engage those communities, counties, provinces, states and countries that harmonize, speed, and create a reliable, predictable, one-stop permitting process.
5. We will create and manage an integrated demonstration of an advanced bioeconomy hub

BOLD ACTIONS FOR FINANCE Accelerating deployments requires more and better financial tools deployed by motivated public and private finance. For example, it is necessary to harmonize, accelerate and reduce the cost of due diligence. To enable better and faster project preparation we will

1. Develop a project risk rating system to facilitate due diligence by those offering debt and equity.
2. Grow of a Development Capital Industry to address the financing of technologies between pilot scale and commercial deployment.

3, We will develop a system of financial agreements that are harmonized, transparent and repeatable and straightforward to act upon.

4. We will prioritize regionally strategic investment in infrastructure to ensure that biomass-replete zones are also project-ready zones.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR GOVERNMENT Strong collaboration between government and industry is needed to enable de-fossilization of fuels, chemicals, and materials. In the spirit of collaboration, we recommend that national and sub-national governments:

1. Create and sustain investment tax credits that are harmonized across all regions, to create a level playing field with fossil carbon, that lasts as long as it takes to pay off the cost of a given facility, begin at the commencement of production, and are payable directly to project developer.
2. Work with international agencies to develop and deploy transparent, aggressive, science-based, harmonized low-carbon fuels and materials standards.
3. Encourage fossil alternatives that support and meet domestic demand for food and energy, and in cases where there is sustainable capacity beyond domestic needs, to develop export markets to support de-fossilization goals for those areas who lack domestic capacity.
4. Adopt a harmonized all-of-government approach when supporting the development of fossil alternatives — including but not limited to departments of energy, agriculture, defense, science, finance, and environment, with a focus on developing transparent, speedy, technology-neutral and efficient programs, and reliable, speedy, and consistent regulatory support.
5. Create and expand programs that support the capital costs of converting fossil refineries, or mothballed biobased refineries, to 100% sustainable bio-based feedstocks.
6. Reform permitting to reduce the time and cost of project development and fossil-alternative deployment.
7. Develop less prescriptive crop insurance to speed the development of bio-capacity.
8. Harmonize regulations that protect land access and resources and ensure that they be feedstock-neutral, science-based, harmonized, predictable, and reliable.
9. Support the growth of a Development Capital Industry to address the financing of technologies between pilot scale and commercial deployment.
10. Expand, simplify and speed the availability of Loan Guarantees to support deployment of commercial-scale projects that offer the highest carbon reduction values and account for carbon intensity in the design of loan program support.
11. Recognize across all branches, ministries, and departments that carbon credits are an asset class that can be utilized to collateralize project and company debt.
12. With public investment we will prioritize commercial-scale demonstrations of technologies and systems, and prioritize investments subject to techno-economic feasibility to ensure investment flows to the best projects for deployment at scale.
13. We will map feedstock availability down to the actual growers and volumes — a census of biomass that reflects availability and intent, and will measure sustainability from soil to end use.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP Recognizing the catalytic role that international bodies and processes can play accelerating the Energy Transition, we recommend that:

1. International agencies enable standards, regulations and development programs that are transparent, consistent, harmonized, reliable, and science-based.
2. International agencies encourage countries to prepare and enforce of transparent, harmonized, and science-based carbon intensity, water use efficiency, and land-use standards.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY GROUPS

1. We recommend that trade & industry group develop data standards and databases that support the development and deployment of biomass resources, including but not limited to biomass-ready regions and aggregators, risk ratings, technology providers, project developers, financial resources, government programs and relevant regulations.
2. We recommend that trade & industry groups prioritize speed of development and deployment, the communication of success stories, in addition to their work on new market development and regulatory relief.
3. We recommend that trade, industry and economic development groups collect and advise on economic development programs that support conversion of existing refining assets those that can use use increasing amounts of sustainable biobased feedstocks.
4. We will design an effective and repeatable program of education that would bring non-industry stakeholders from a point of limited of bioeconomy to a fluency that would lead to more effective and swifter decision-making and support a portfolio approach to energy investment and deployment, including the certification of bioeconomy educators in the public and private sectors.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR RESEARCHERS

1. We recommend a focus on developing new feedstocks and cover crops, uniform feedstock conditioning, improvement in yields from water electrolysis, and supporting partnerships for the improvement of processing technologies and for new product development.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR THE BOLD GOALS ACTION GROUP

1. We will create and support, for the long-term, a working group to oversee the implementation of these Bold Actions and to continue to serve for all organizations that seek independent, science-based, technology-neutral feedback and guidance from our “coalition of the willing” of project developers, scientists, financiers, end-users, and economic development officials.