VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #2489/01 2171735
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051735Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0086
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9056
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AUG LIMA 7870
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2573
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 3985
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 8567
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002489 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
WHA/EPSC FOR FCORNEILLE; EEB/TPP FOR JBOBO; EEB/ESC FOR 
MMCMANUS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG EAGR ECON PGOV CO
SUBJECT: BIOFUELS: US EXPERT URGES COLOMBIA TO LOOK TOWARD 
SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS 
 
REF: A. STATE 30223 
     ¶B. BOGOTA 36 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: With funding from the Bureau of Economic, 
Energy and Business Affairs (EEB), Embassy Bogota hosted the 
visit of Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels Director 
Charlotte Opal September 3-5 to inform local biofuels 
producers and policymakers about the ongoing international 
dialogue on sustainability standards.  As part of the two-day 
speaking program, Ms. Opal met with environmental activists, 
biofuels producers, government officials, and media as well 
as visited a biodiesel production facility under development. 
 Ms. Opal anchored her visit with a public presentation to 
approximately 175 industry, government, academic and media 
representatives at the National Economists' Forum.  She 
underscored the potential to sustainably develop the 
Colombian biofuels sector, urging the public and private 
sectors to work closely on supplying input to rapidly 
evolving global discussions on standards.  She also 
encouraged Colombia to include preparations for international 
biofuels certifications in its plans to eventually supply 
biofuels for export.  Colombian interlocutors responded 
favorably, but emphasized the importance of avoiding a 
proliferation of different biofuel standards that could 
create a barrier to sector development.  As a result of the 
visit, the GOC biofuels coordinator agreed to convoke a 
domestic working group to contribute Colombian comments to 
the international discussions on biofuels standards. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
Keynote Presentation 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On September 3, Ms. Opal addressed approximately 175 
biofuels producers, government officials, academics, and 
members of the local media at the National Economists' Forum 
regarding work of the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels and 
other institutions in developing sustainability standards for 
biofuels production.  Ms. Opal outlined the current version 
of standards proposed by the Roundtable as well as the 
ongoing discussions in the Global Bioenergy Partnership 
(GBEP).  She noted that individual markets such as the 
European Union were likely to establish firm sustainability 
standards for imported biofuels by 2010.  Following the 
speech, audience members asked about the proliferation of 
standards mechanisms for various feedstock, the coordination 
between ongoing dialogues, and how standards might serve as a 
barrier to trade and development.  Ms. Opal highlighted the 
collaboration between the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels 
and other institutions such as the Roundtable for Sustainable 
Palm Oil as part of the effort to avoid duplicative 
standards. She urged input from all stakeholders, including 
Colombian, in order to develop mutually agreed standards that 
fostered, rather than impeded, development of a global 
biofuels industry. 
 
Environment, Producer, Media & GOC Meetings 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Ms. Opal attended roundtables with environmental, 
producer and GOC officials, respectively, to discuss the 
potential for sustainable development of biofuels in Colombia 
and the role of international standards.  Representatives 
from the Nature Conservancy, the Humboldt Center, the World 
Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and the 
Inter-American Development Bank outlined efforts to 
coordinate with palm and sugar producers on establishing 
environmental principles for biodiesel and ethanol 
production.  They welcomed the establishment of broad 
international standards for sustainable biofuels, but 
acknowledged that Colombia needed to move faster to 
contribute to the dialogue.   Ms. Opal encouraged the 
environmental community to seek out areas of cooperation with 
biofuels producers on land management and shared principles. 
 
 
¶4. (U) In discussions with the Federation of Biofuels 
Producers, Ms. Opal stressed the value-added benefits of 
seeking international certifications of compliance with 
environmental, labor, and quality standards.  She also 
encouraged producers to continue to pursue production 
 
practices that prevent deforestation, protect biodiversity 
and promote sound land management. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In her meeting with National Biofuels Coordinator 
Arturo Infante and technical representatives of the 
Ministries of Energy, Agriculture and Planning, Ms. Opal 
urged the GOC to coordinate with the environmental community 
and private sector as it develops domestic biofuels 
standards.  Dr. Infante noted efforts to incorporate 
stakeholder input into the National Biofuels Strategy 
announced in April 2008.  He also announced that the GBEP had 
just accepted Colombia as a member country and said that he 
hoped the GBEP could serve as a governmental forum for 
standards discussions.  Infante expressed some reservations 
about the "virtual" format of the Roundtable's stakeholder 
dialogue, suggesting that a schedule of formal meetings might 
be more effective, but agreed to activate a multi-stakeholder 
Colombian working group to provide input to the Roundtable's 
draft standards, as well as through the GBEP. 
 
Media Roundtable 
---------------- 
 
¶6. (U) In light of the high-profile of biofuels issues in 
Colombian media, Ms. Opal concluded her visit by briefing 
journalists from leading print media outlets El Tiempo, 
Portafolio, Colprensa, La Republica, Dinero, and 
Responsibilidad Social.  The participating journalists told 
post following the roundtable that the briefing was valuable 
in underscoring the ongoing international discussion of 
sustainable biofuels and that they planned to include 
material from the discussion with Ms. Opal in future 
reporting on the sector. 
 
Site Visit 
---------- 
 
¶7. (U) In addition to the public diplomacy program, Post 
organized a site visit for Ms. Opal to a palm oil-based 
biodiesel plant in Facatativa, outside of Bogota.  Ms. Opal 
toured the new facility scheduled to initiate operations 
October 1 and received a briefing from the plant's general 
manager regarding the sustainable supply change and 
low-environmental impact operational model. 
 
Result/Impact 
------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ms. Opal's presentations on the rapidly evolving 
global discussions on biofuels standards served to capture 
the attention of Colombian biofuels producers, environmental 
activists and government policymakers.  While Colombia had 
begun looking at sustainable certification of biofuels,  Ms. 
Opal's messages on promoting public-private dialogue and 
contributing now to international standards discussions 
before global principles are finalized resonated with 
audiences.  Most importantly, National Biofuels Coordinator 
Infante's commitment to activate a Colombian working group to 
provide input to international standards discussions 
represents a tangible outcome of the visit and will help 
ensure that Colombia's experiences are incorporated into the 
global biofuels sustainability debate. 
Brownfield