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Nineteen nations say they'll use more bioenergy to slow climate change

by Reuters
Thursday, 16 November 2017 16:26 GMT

Biochemist Cesar Saez shows the different processes of manufacture of a biofuel made with micro algae for high displacement diesel engines for reducing emissions of gases and particulate matter in Santiago, Chile June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

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The 19 countries represent half the world's population and 37 percent of the global economy

BONN, Germany, Nov 16 (Reuters) - China and 18 other nations representing half the world's population said on Thursday they planned to increase the use of wood and other plant matter from sustainable sources to generate energy as part of efforts to limit climate change.

The group would work out collective targets for increasing the use of what they called sustainable bioenergy, they said during talks in Germany among 200 nations on bolstering the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Philippines, Sweden and Uruguay signed up for the plan.

They agreed to "develop collective targets prescribing the contribution of sustainable bioenergy to final energy demand and as a percentage of transport fuel use", their joint Biofuture Platform initiative in a statement.

Bioenergy can be generated by burning wood, wood pellets or crop waste such as bagasse from sugar production.

The group would also seek to expand what they called the "bioeconomy", or all economic activity related to the use of plants in the production of renewable energy, materials and chemicals.

"The technology and awareness of the need for bio-based solutions are finally coming together," Brazilian Environment Minister Jose Sarney Filho said in a statement.

Environmental groups often criticise the use of trees and other plant matter in energy production, saying it can lead to the diversion of land use from food crops and destruction of natural habitats.

The 19 represent half the world's population and 37 percent of the global economy. The Paris agreement sets a goal of limiting a rise in temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. (Reporting by Alister Doyle; editing by Andrew Roche)

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