Eighth ANNUAL Berkeley Bioeconomy Conference: The Future of Biofuels*
U.C. Berkeley Alumni House
April 1 and 2, 2015
April 1
8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
Welcome
David Zilberman, University of California at Berkeley
Bruce Babcock, Iowa State University
Keith Gilless, Dean, College of Natural Resources, University of California at Berkeley
8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Session 1: Biofuel and Energy in the Last Decade
- Harry de Gorter, Cornell University, “The Economics of Biofuel Policies: Impacts on Price Volatility in Grain and Oilseed Markets”
- Brian Wright, University of California at Berkeley, “Biofuel Policies: Analysis vs. Rhetoric”
- Bruce Babcock, Iowa State University, “Land Use Changes at the Intensive and Extensive Margins”
- Gal Hochman, Rutgers University, “Biofuels: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”
Break
11:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Session 2: Biofuel: Second Generation and the Environment
- Wally Tyner, Purdue University, “Corn Stover Sustainability for Biofuels with and without Cover Crops”
- Madhu Khanna, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “Cost of Environmental Benefits with Second-generation Biofuels: Role of Policy”
- Bruce McCarl, Texas A&M University, “Cellulosic Biofuel’s Cloudy Future: Sales Potential, Cost, Marginal Lands, Technology and Logistics”
- Heather Youngs, Energy Biosciences Institute, University of California at Berkeley, “Science and Public Dialog About the Sustainability of Biofuels”
Lunch
1:15 p.m.
Lunch Speaker
Marca Weinberg, Director, Resource and Rural Economics Division, USDA
2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Session 3: Biofuel in the Context of Energy
- Hanna Breetz, Arizona State University, “(Bio)energy Policy As If Systems Mattered”
- Dan Kammen, University of California at Berkeley, “Carbon-negative Bioenergy Systems”
- Sonia Yeh, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, “Carbon Policies in California and the Pacific Coast Region and the Role of Low Carbon Fuels”
- Steven Rose, Electric Power Research Institute, “Global Bioenergy Potential in Long-run Energy System Transformation and Climate Management”
Break
3:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Session 4: Analyzing Biofuel Policy
- GianCarlo Moschini, Iowa State University, “Mandates and the Incentive for Innovation”
- Deepak Rajagopal, University of California, Los Angeles, “Implications of Shale-shocked OPEC Response to the GHG Benefits of Cellulosic Biofuels”
- C.-Y. Cynthia Lin, University of California, Davis, “The Design and Effects of Biofuel Policies”
- Sebastien Pouliot, Iowa State University, “Willingness to Pay for E85: Evidence from Revealed and Stated Preferences”
- Caroline Taylor, University of Bath/University of California at Berkeley, “Hic Sunt Dracones or Terra Incognita? Risk in Sustainability Decision-Making Beyond the Precautionary Principle”
6:30 p.m.
Reception for Conference Speakers
7:00 p.m.
Dinner for Conference Speakers
7:30 p.m.
Evening Speaker
Geoff Cooper, Senior Vice President, Renewable Fuels Association
April 2
8:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Session 1: Biofuel and Forests
- Francisco Aguilar, University of Missouri, “Wood Energy: Portfolios, Trade and Trends”
- Bob Abt, North Carolina State University, “What if Wood-based Bioenergy Demand Actually Happens? Pellet Demand and the Southern Forest Resource”
- Bill Stewart, University of California at Berkeley, “Interaction of Biofuel Feedstock Potential and Natural Disturbances in Dry Interior Western US Forests”
- Carolyn Smyth, Canadian Forest Service, “Analysis of the Mitigation Potential of Canada’s Forest Sector to Reduce GHG Emissions”
Break
10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Session 2: Biofuel in a Global Context
- Kenny Bell, University of California at Berkeley, “Modeling Sugarcane Expansion in Brazil using an Investment Framework”
- Govinda Timilsina, The World Bank, “Global Biofuel Development after the 2007/8 Financial Crisis”
- Marcelo Moreira, Agroicone, Sao Paulo, “Stop and Go in the Brazilian Ethanol Industry”
- David Roland-Holst, University of California at Berkeley, “Modeling Uncertainty in Fuel Demand and Supply”
Lunch
1:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Session 3: Future of Biotechnology in the Context of the Bioeconomy
- David Zilberman, University of California at Berkeley, “The Cost of Delaying Approval for New GMO Traits”
- Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University, “The Future of Biotechnology in the EU – Is there Light at the End of the Tunnel?”
- Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University, “Sourcing Feedstock for Cellulosic Biofuels when Producer Participation is Low”
- Carl Pray, Rutgers University, “Political Economy of Genetically Modified (GM) Food Policies in China, India & Brazil”
Break
3:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Session 4: Pricing and Regulation of Energy and Other Commodities
- Jim Bushnell, University of California, Davis, “Looming Issues in California’s Climate Policy”
- Karel Janda, Charles University in Prague, “Co-movements of Ethanol Related Prices: Evidence from Brazil and the USA”
- Hamed Ghoddusi, Stevens Institute of Technology, “Biofuel Producers and Oil Price Risks”
- Nick Paulson, University of Illinois, “Potential for 2nd Generation Biofuel Investment in Brazil”
5:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Open Session: Challenges of Research of the Bioeconomy
*Following the Conference, presentations will be available via the Conference Website. Those who are registered for the Conference will be notified by e-mail when the presentations have been posted.
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