The Pan American Liquid Biofuels Coalition will meet with specialists and authorities in Buenos Aires to discuss opportunities provided by the energy transition

Buenos Aires, 27 June 2023 (IICA) - Specialists, industry leaders, representatives of government and international organizations and producers from the Americas and Europe will attend the Pan American Liquid Biofuels Summit on June 29 in Buenos Aires.

The high-level meeting will provide an opportunity  to share information and to discuss the key role of biofuels in the region, as well as the multiple possibilities they offer for development in the Americas, both in land and air transportation, and within the framework of the energy transition taking place worldwide. The Summit will be held at the Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange, which is located in the heart of the capital.

The Summit is being organized by the Pan American Liquid Biofuels Coalition (CPBIO in Spanish), which consists of the main biofuel business and industry associations of the Americas, involved in the production and processing of sugar, alcohol, corn, sorghum, soybean, vegetable oil and grains, among other agricultural products.

The Coalition of 25 organizations was created in March during a meeting at the Headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in San Jose, Costa Rica. It is seeking to coordinate the development, promotion and sustainable consumption of these clean energies in the Hemisphere. IICA is the Technical Secretariat of the CPBIO.

“Opportunities for Biofuels in the Americas” is the title of the Summit, which will be officially opened by Flavia Royón, Secretary of Energy of Argentina, along with Manuel Otero, IICA Director General.

Royón will speak about the development of the Argentinian agroindustry, whereas Otero will discuss the impact of climate change on agriculture in the Americas and biofuels’ role in decarbonization.

Later, in various panel discussions, industry representatives and other experts will discuss issues such as experiences in bioethanol fuel development, the opportunity offered by Sustainable Aviation Fluids (SAF), experiences in the use of biodiesel and policies and perspectives on the sector in the region.

Among the promotors of the Summit are the Argentine Soybean Chain Association (ACSOJA), the Corn Bioethanol Chamber, the Argentine Biofuel Chamber, the Argentine Corn and Sorghum Association (MAIZAR) and the Oil Industry Chamber of Argentina-Cereal Exporters Center (CIARA-CEC).

Promoting biofuel production 

The 25 founding organizations of the CPBIO, which are from multiple countries in the Americas, signed a declaration last month in which they called for a more robust institutional framework and greater coordination to promote biofuels.

Among other questions, they stated that, “The climate crisis is of increasing concern, but we still have time to prevent greater catastrophes, given that biofuels, in particular liquid biofuels, will be a key factor in decarbonizing the transport sector.

The CPBIO indicated that biofuels improve air quality and human health, while contributing to agricultural and economic development, by diversifying product choice, adding value, protecting soils through crop rotation, creating sustainable employment and ensuring a more stable demand over time for farmers.

Biofuel production also reduces the vulnerability associated with a single energy source, with consumers will no longer having to depend on fossil fuels, for example.

The following organizations are members of the CPBIO:

• Alcohols of Uruguay (ALUR)
• Argentine Sugar Center (CAA)
• Argentine Biofuel Chamber (CARBIO)
• Argentine Corn and Sorghum Association (MAIZAR)
• Argentine Soybean Chain Association (ACSOJA)
• Association of Alcohol Producers of Guatemala (APAG)
• Association of Biofuel Producers of Brazil (APROBIO)
• Association of Latin American Sugar Producers (UNALA)
• Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA)
• Corn Bioethanol Chamber (BIOMAIZ)
• Local Alcohol Productive Arrangement (APLA), of Brazil
• National Biofuel Federation of Colombia (FEDECOMBUSTIBLES)
• National Chamber of the Sugar and Alcohol Industries of Mexico 
• National Committee of Sugar Producers of Nicaragua (CNPA)
• National Corn Ethanol Union (UNEM)
• Oil Industry Chamber of Argentina-Cereal Exporters Center (CIARA-CEC)
• Paraguayan Chamber of Biofuels and Renewable Energy (BIOCAP)
• Paraguayan Sugar and Alcohol Center (CAAP)
• Peruvian Association  of Agroindustrial Companies of Sugar and Sugar Byproducts (PERUCAÑA)
• Renewable Fuels Association of Guatemala (ACR)
• Sugar and Alcohol Association of Panama (AZUCALPA)
• Sugar Association of El Salvador
• Sugar Cane Industry Association (LAICA), of Costa Rica
• Sugar Producers of the Central American Isthmus   (AICA)
• United States Grain Council  

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int