Become a PANGEA Member!
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PANGEA Members benefit from a number of great services including: funding alerts, discounts to international conferences, lobbying in EU and Africa, policy updates, consulting services, networking and professional introductions, and project partnership matching. To become a member, please visit: http://pangealink.org/membership or contact briana@pangealink.org
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 | Note from the Secretary General: | 
As PANGEA's staff and resources grow, so does our dynamism and our ability to respond to the needs of our members and of the growing industry as a whole. Members told us they wanted more focus on Africa, so that's what we're doing: our newest staff member, Annalisa, is working on a comprehensive, living database that will allow us to not only keep track of biofuel policy developments in Africa, but also to analyse them, compare them and seek out trends. We hope to have the first working draft on the members' only section of our website within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for that.
We're also expanding how we interact with institutions, to make sure that the voice of Africa's growing bioenergy industry is heard in
Europe with more policy statements, more consultations, and broader participation in cross-industry platforms. It's not just about
interacting with those who know about biofuels, but it's more about
engaging with and educating those who don't know. That means our remit is expanding into food security, development, external relations and beyond.
See you at World Biofuels Markets in Rotterdam!
Meghan Sapp, Secretary General |
| UPCOMING EVENTS
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22-24 March --> Rotterdam, the Netherlands
World Biofuels Markets
Europe's largest Biofuels Conference & Exhibition
PANGEA will be presenting, hosting a half day workshop on opportunities for India & Brazil in Africa, hosting a booth and sponsoring the
Green Shoots Award
for the Sustainable Biofuels Awards.
Members receive a 20% discount. Use code PAN20 when registering. Click here to register.
Members also have the opportunity to display materials at the PANGEA booth. Please contact Briana to make arrangements. briana@pangealink.org
11-14 April --> Brussels, Belgium
EU Sustainable Energy Week
Hundreds of events organised all over Europe will show, promote, discuss and celebrate energy efficiency and renewable energy. For a list of EUSEW events, click here.
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Thursday, 14 April - PANGEA event in the European Parliament!
"Clearing the Smoke: Promoting CleanCook Ethanol Stoves in Developing C ountries"
Sponsored by Christofer Fjellner, MEP (Sweden/EPP)
Details: European Parliament, Members Salon from 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Presentations by: PANGEA, Christofer Fjellner MEP, Project Gaia Inc. (PANGEA member), Dometic & Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) on benefits & experiences with using CleanCook ethanol stoves to reduce health hazards, deforestation and GHG emissions in developing countries. Photo exhibit & video followed by cocktail reception.
By inviation only, please contact briana@pangealink.org for more information.
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| New PANGEA Partnership:
Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA)
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The Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) was launched in 2002 by a group of committed organisations at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Today, PCIA Partners have reported helping 1.4 million households to adopt clean cooking and heating practices, reducing harmful exposures for more than 7.6 million people.
More than 400 public and private organisations have joined the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air and are contributing their resources and expertise to improve health, livelihood, and quality of life by reducing exposure to indoor air pollution, primarily among women and children, from household energy use. The Partnership focuses on four priority areas which have proved to be essential elements for sustainable household energy and health programs in developing countries: (i) Meeting Social/Behavioral Needs; (ii) Developing Local Markets; (iii) Improving Technology Design and Performance; and (iv) Monitoring Impacts of Interventions. For more information, please visit: http://www.pciaonline.org/
PANGEA became a member of PCIA in February 2011. Project Gaia, Inc. (PANGEA member) is an active member of PCIA.
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| European Commission: Public Consultations
|  PANGEA is working hard to ensure the voice of its members in Europe, Africa and beyond are heard in Brussels.
When drafting or revising legislation, the European Commission often holds public consultations which give interested parties, both within the EU and internationally, a chance to voice their opinions.
PANGEA closely monitors the public consultation calls and will be participating in 3 over the coming months. - Public consultation on the preparation of a report on additional sustainability measures at EU level for solid and gaseous biomass used in electricity, heating and cooling - DEADLINE 29 MARCH
- Notice of stakeholder meeting on the Final Assessment of the 6th Environment Action Programme - DEADLINE 1 APRIL
- Consultation on the planned European Commission Communication for the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development ("Rio+20") - DEADLINE 10 APRIL
We invite all PANGEA members to actively review and contribute to PANGEA's submissions.
If you are interested in participating in any of the above calls, please contact annalisa@pangealink.org |
| PANGEA Member Spotlight | 
Project Gaia, Inc./Gaia Association (Ethiopia)
Project Gaia, Inc. is a US registered 501c(3) organisation whose mission is to promote the use of clean-burning renewable fuels, especially the alcohol fuels, for cooking and other household uses. PGI endeavours to serve those who have limited access to clean energy, including disadvantaged and marginalised peoples who suffer the added burden of being energy poor. Project Gaia currently works in Africa and Latin America but will work wherever families struggle to cook a daily meal.
NEWS ALERT:
Gaia Association (Ethiopia) has entered into a supported agreement with the Ethiopian Federal Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to source and install three microdistilleries in rural Ethiopian communities. The project will link agriculture to energy with simple, affordable, small-scale processing and distillation equipment. The efficient microdistilleries (EMDs) will be installed, operated, and owned by three unique communities in the Amhara, Afar, and Oromia/Addis Ababa regions.
The EMD equipment will be modular, transportable and self-contained. The EMDs will transform sugar and starch feedstocks and waste products such as fruit cull and coffee husks into bioethanol fuel. The EMDs will produce about 120 litres of fuel-grade ethanol per day.
Gaia Association will be responsible for overseeing the procurement and installation of the EMDs at the project sites. Gaia will also provide technical support such as training on EMD operation, fuel production, safety and handling. The project uses a community-
based approach to determine which local feedstocks are to be sourced to produce ethanol. The fuel will be used for clean-burning ethanol stoves. It will also be used to generate power and to run small motorized vehicles called Bajaj scooters. The ethanol stoves will displace traditional wood and charcoal stoves. The EPA will monitor the project and provide technical and programmatic advice.
For more information, please visit: www.projectgaia.com
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Exclusive PANGEA Report: Available Funding Opportunities for Bioenergy Investment in Africa
|  PANGEA has extensively researched and compiled a 65-page report highlighting
16 different funds for private companies and organisations wishing to establish renewable energy projects in Africa.
The report clearly explains each fund, its main objectives and criteria, outlines requirements for applications, includes deadlines where appropriate, and an extensive contact list for each fund and every African country.
PANGEA will regularly update the report and the Funding Opportunities section of the Members Only website as new funds and opportunities are announced.
For more information, please visit http://pangealink.org/members-only-2 or contact briana@pangealink.org |
| FAO Report: Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems Work for People and Climate
|  PANGEA has been working effortlessly to counteract the negative press generated by the Food vs. Fuel debate these past few years.
We have long argued that energy is needed to produce food and that investment in bioenergy can leverage investment and infrastructure to produce more food, not less.
Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems Work for People and Climate was recently published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The report discusses Integrated Food Energy Systems (IFES) as a solution to climate-smart agricultural development. IFES aims at addressing these issues by simultaneously producing food and energy, as a possible way to achieve the energy component of sustainable crop intensification through the ecosystem approach.
For more information, please visit http://pangealink.org/members-only-2 or contact briana@pangealink.org
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 Exclusive Members Only Reports:
In an effort to keep PANGEA members up-to-date with the most pressing and popular topics concerning renewable energy in Africa, we regularly publish research reports based on data from industry leaders and experts.
The following reports have been recently published and are available via the Members Only website:
- FAO report: Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems Work for People and Climate
- European Commission Report on Financing Renewable Energy in the EU
- UK Renewable Fuels Agency 2009/10 Annual Report to Parliament on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO)
- European Commission Communication on the Progress of Renewable Energy in the EU
- University of Essex report: Battles over Biofuels in Europe: NGOs and the Politics of Markets
Also, keep an eye out for the following PANGEA exclusive reports in the coming months:
- Landgrabbing
- African Biofuels Policy Overview
- Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) Study
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| Key Events Attended by PANGEA
--> Jan-Feb '11
|  ISCC General Assembly, Brussels - 8 February The International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) held its General Assembly in Brussels and hosted a half-day workshop to discuss certification of sustainable biofuels and biomass. The ISCC was established in 2008, and began issuing sustainability certificates in 2010. To date, ISCC has issued over 170 certificates worldwide.
ISCC is one of the certification schemes that has been submitted to the European Commission for approval under the Renewable Energy Directive. Others include the Better Sugarcane Initiative and the UK's Assured Food Standards (AFS).
Speakers: the European Commission (DG ENER), the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, ISCC Board Members and Industry Representatives.
For more information, please visit: http://www.iscc-system.org Low Carbon Prosperity Summit, European Parliament, Brussels - 9 February 
The Low Carbon Prosperity Summit, which was organised by the President of the European Parliament and The Prince's Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL), brought together the Presidents of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council along with MEPs and Chief Executives of The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change. HRH Prince Charles has long been committed to combatting climate change and protecting the environment. His speech focused on the need to boost economic performance while lowering resource use and waste. However, in order to achieve this, businesses need certainty to invest. The Prince of Wales expressed his desire to "make it cool to use less stuff." President Barroso stressed the need for innovation and new technologies to acheive the EU's 2020 Strategy to create a green, low carbon economy, in a "race to the top". An industry representative from Philips stressed the need to never underestimate the power of the consumer when introducing new technologies and low carbon products. For more information on the summit, please click here. European Development Cooperation to 2020 Project (EDC 2020), Brussels - 10 February 
The Final EDC 2020 event presented results of three years of research on the impact of (i) new actors in international development, (ii) energy security, democracy, and political development and (iii) climate change on European Development Cooperation.
The event was opened by European Commissioner for Development, Mr. Andris Piebalgs, who believes the link between energy security and development policy is crucial to solve poverty issues. He said that biofuels can be an opportunity for development, and critics must be supported by real data, otherwise they are unproductive. To see the presentations from the event, see http://www.edc2020.eu/98.0.html |
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