Governance of biofuel production in the transport sector through the renewable energy directive

In the search for viable pathways for transforming governance and institutions in the Rio+20 agenda, strengthening of public-private governance networks has been emphasized. Important initiatives are found in the expanding bioenergy sector where several certification schemes have been launched for ensuring that bioenergy feedstock meet environmental and social requirements. These initiatives are encouraged by the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). RED states that biofuels should replace 10% of Europe's fossil fuel in transport by 2020. However, the production of bioliquids raises serious environmental and social sustainability concerns in producer countries. In order to contribute to the EU targets, economic operators most comply with a set of sustainability criteria through one of three reporting schemes. This study, emphasizing the Swedish case as one of the first countries to transpose RED into national law, focuses on which reporting system is chosen by economic operators and on what grounds. Are social concerns such as labor rights, land and resource rights considered important factors? Preliminary studies show that the national scheme is stressing environmental sustainability, showing fewer concerns of social aspects, while the EU recently accredited voluntary systems, driven by a range of actors, are more transformational concerning the inclusion of social concerns in producer countries. The study contributes to the important question on how to promote north-south justice and fairness aspects in governing a sustainable biofuel production by learning from the implementation of this potentially influential regulatory innovation.