Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) is an international biofuels trade association based in Brussels, Belgium that acts as a platform to support the creation of sustainable bioenergy industries in Africa. PANGEA lobbies governments, provides a network for the industry, and shares knowledge on best practices in both the EU and Africa. Its members produce, blend, trade, research and support the development of bioenergy in Africa and beyond.
In terms of lobbying, PANGEA works closely with the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) Group of States as well as regional and national governments in Africa to develop their bioenergy strategies and policies internally, as well as advises them on relations with the EU. In the EU, PANGEA is consulted on similar matters, most recently concerning the Renewable Energy Directive and Sustainability Criteria consultations with the European Commission’s Directorate General of Energy and Transport (DG TREN).
In terms of creating networks and promoting the African bioenergy industry, PANGEA regularly organises international biofuels conferences in Africa (planned for 2009/2010 – Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Sudan) and presents at the World Biofuels Market in Brussels and similar events. It also actively participates in forums such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) and the Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI) to ensure that biofuels are produced in Africa in a sustainable way without creating trade barriers or insurmountable obstacles for the burgeoning industry.
PANGEA’s knowledge and capacity is based on its experience in EU & ACP policy building and both its members’ and network’s experience in business development and management. To make the information as useful as possible, PANGEA is currently building the largest database of biofuels projects and potentials in Africa.
Speaker Profile
Meghan Sapp is Managing Director of HG Consulting and Secretary General of PANGEA, based in Brussels.
After studying agriculture at Montana State University in the US, she spent the next 10 years writing about agriculture and farmers as a journalist for various publications including the Wall Street Journal. Ms. Sapp became involved with Least Developed Countries during the reform of the EU’s sugar regime where she worked on a lobbying team advocating for policy and development support for LDC sugar economies post-reform. She has more than five years of experience advising companies and government agencies on biofuel investment and policy in Africa.
Last year, Ms. Sapp founded “Partners for Euro-African Green Energy,” a trade association that links African biofuel producers with the European market where she has been very active advocating the African side in the debate on Europe’s Renewable Energy Directive. Through her guidance, PANGEA continues to play a pivotal role in the Brussels policy arena in various activities from policy and trade analysis to the development of the world’s most comprehensive database on African biofuel projects.
Overview of Presentation
The food vs. fuel controversy cast a shadow over investment in biofuels in recent years due a wide range of market factors that had very little in fact to do with biofuels. Since its early days, jatropha has been known as a crop that did not contribute to the debate because of its ability to grow on land that did not compete with food. Yet as jatropha research develops and more is known about the crop, it has become apparent that jatropha grows better on land where food also grows. This presentation will discuss the risks of competing with food production and opportunities to avoid the clash.
JatrophaWorld 2009 Brussels Speaker
Day 2 – Thursday, October 15
10:05 FOOD VS FUEL, JATROPHA’S ROLE
JATROPHAWORLD 2009 is a showcase of all the latest trends and shifts occurring in the Jatropha value chain, bringing together on a single platform, the best expertise to discuss and analyze the present and future dynamics of Jatropha from a technological and socio-economic angle. To find more about JatrophaWorld in Brussels from October 14 to 15, 2009, please visit http://www.futureenergyevents.com/jatropha/.