Biofuels Study Tour looking for new stops

New host needed

Biofuel Cities study tours showcases innovative European biofuel projects. Their aim is to enable participants to learn first-hand about successful projects in other cities, their implementation and the challenges faced by their founders.

Biofuel Cities is a project funded by the European Commission that involves seven partners including ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability (or International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives). The project supports the use of biofuels at a local level across Europe. ICLEI organises Biofuels Cities’ end-user workshops and study tours. It is now looking for a city to host the third in its series of study tours, scheduled for October 2008.

Knowledge sharing

Study tours visit cities that have launched successful biofuel projects, bringing an audience of representatives from other cities and organisations interested in embarking on their own projects. Each tour focuses on one city or region, and its project, examining the planning and implementation process and meeting the companies involved.

The tours were conceived to invite debate and encourage learning and knowledge sharing in the biofuels sector. They aim to help local government members and biofuels stakeholders effectively undertake their own projects, by promoting networking and information sharing for learning and support purposes.

A look at Graz

The previous study tour took place in Graz, Austria, whose entire public bus fleet runs on biodiesel that is 100 per cent processed from local waste cooking oil. The tour examined the different stages of the project, from collecting the waste oil, to refining it into biodiesel, to converting the bus fleet, using site visits, presentations and discussion sessions.

Contact

Christine Klas, climate and air project assistant at ICLEI, said, “we’re keen to hear about exemplary projects in the field of biofuels for transport, from people who are interested in sharing their experiences with European stakeholders.”

Interested parties should forward a one-page description of their project to christine.klas@iclei.org. More information on the Biofuel Cities project can be found here: www.biofuel-cities.eu.