News I Sustainable Biofuels become a Hot Topic at the Hong Kong Greener Skies Conference

The 4th "Greener Skies" Aviation and Environment Conference on Aviation, was held in Hong Kong on September 27, 2011. Robert Earley, Director of the Low Carbon Transportation Program at iCET, was invited to give a speech on behalf of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) at the conference. The speech focused on the sustainability of biofuels that might be manufactured in China, and the risks posed by too many industries relying on biomass as a "silver bullet" for mitigating the climate change risks presented by their industries. Careful and transparent government planning will be required to ensure that ecosystems and food systems are not severely disrupted by biomass energy production. The conference also focused on the EU-ETS's controversial decision to include airlines in the emissions trading market, seeing fierce opposition from industry, and equally fierce defense from European officials on stage