| International trade conference on biofuels and carbon October 22–23 Global biofuels production is booming. In 2006, U.S. ethanol imports from Brazil
and other Central American and Caribbean countries quadrupled. What are the
environmental costs of growing and processing these fuels? Would increased international
trade lead to low-carbon fuel standards? And what role can the business community
play?
On October 22 and 23, the University of Minnesota and several international
partners will host “Biofuels, Carbon,
and Trade: Leadership Challenges for the Interdependent Americas” at
Coffman Memorial Union
on the University of Minnesota campus, 300 Washington Avenue S.E., Minneapolis.
Experts will participate in a discussion around questions related to global
biofuels and carbon policies.
“Biofuels are being encouraged in nearly every corner of the world as
a substitute for petroleum-based transport fuels, and many are realizing that
international trade will be important to meet global alternative fuel mandates,”
said Timothy Smith, Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Professor and conference
co-chair. “In addition, the carbon and environmental impacts of biofuels
are significantly different depending on what it is made from and where and
how it is produced. We want to create a foundation for international partnerships
within the Americas to advance low-carbon biofuels.”
Guests include keynote speakers Lois
Quam, managing director of alternative investments at Piper Jaffray, and
Roberto Dobles Mora, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica. Quam
recently joined Piper Jaffray after a long stint with UnitedHealth Group where
she helped build the company into one of the fastest growing health care organizations
in the United States. On Monday, October 22, from 8 to 9 a.m., she will talk
about her new role in which she is responsible for managing Piper Jaffray’s
equity investment offerings in alternative energy and clean technology. Dobles
Mora will deliver the luncheon keynote later that day about “The National
Strategy for Climate Change and Biofuels of Costa Rica.”
“We have high expectations for this conference, and we hope it helps us
take a first step toward integrative approaches to biofuels development and
global carbon and trade policies,” said Smith.
The conference is co-sponsored by several units at the University of Minnesota
including the Center
for Integrative Leadership; the Center
for Science, Technology, and Public Policy; and the Department
of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. International partners include
the INCAE Business School of Costa Rica
and the Heinz Center for Science,
Economics, and the Environment.
Registration for the two-day event is $75 per person. For more information
and to register, please visit www.biofuels.umn.edu.
Additional questions may be directed to Sergio Molina at sergiomolina@umn.edu
or (612) 624 3223.
October 2, 2007
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