UNDP South Africa

Pretoria, January 14 2011- The Regional environment project and UNDP South Africa partnered with the Government of South Africa, Department of Energy to host the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) workshop. The project provided financial support towards the IBSA technical workshop which was aimed at the harmonisation of biofuel speciafications and standards amongst the IBSA countries. The workshop took place from 2-3 December 2010 in Kempton Park, South Africa. The workshop was a follow up to the IBSA technical workshop hosted by Brazil and was attended by IBSA Members, Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states and the South African local industry.

The workshop provided an opportunity for iBSA countries to share their standards for bioethanol and biodiesel, and identify gaps and areas for harmonization for further collaboration in the development of biofuels. Through the sharing of experiences on the development of biofuels among SADC member countries, the workshop created a platform for regional discussions on biodiesel and bioethanol, which will contribute towards the development of the SADC Renewable Energy Satretgy. It is envisaged that through this initiative, trade opportunities within the IBSA countries on biodiesel and bioethanol will be opened and partnerships will be strengthened among IBSA and SADC countries in this area of alternative energy. Participants agreed to form task teams to facilitate the harmonization of standards and specifications on biofuels, and further meeting are planned during the course of this year (2011).