Achieving Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 will require countries, industries, and citizens to reduce, recycle, and replace fossil carbon across all economic sectors and modes of use. Rapid electrification and efficiency improvements are necessary, but not sufficient to achieve Net-Zero Emissions by 2050.

The fuels, chemicals, and materials necessary for modern life often contain carbon; as such, we need a vibrant circular economy that optimizes the use of carbon from renewable biomass and carbon-rich waste streams to substitute for as much fossil carbon as fast as possible. However, the production and use of bio- and waste-based fuels, chemicals, and materials is not increasing as rapidly as needed to achieve Net-Zero Emissions by 2050.

The countries of the Clean Energy Ministerial Biofuture Platform Initiative believe that catalytic, global effort is needed to accelerate deployment of agricultural- and biotechnology-based solutions to meet pressing global needs, and that his effort will only succeed if it is a performed jointly with Industry and additional motivated stakeholders.

As such, the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Biofuture Platform Initiative created the Biofuture Council to serve as a vehicle for collaborating with Industry to showcase ways that bio-based Fuels, Chemicals, and Materials (FCM) can contribute to the Energy Transition and to a Net-Zero, Circular Economy.

The Biofuture Council continues and expands the work of the Clean Energy Ministerial Biofuture Campaign, which built high-functioning lines of communication between leaders of bio-based industries, the Biofuture Platform countries, the Clean Energy Ministerial, and the International Energy Agency. The Biofuture Campaign led to an increase in the understanding of, and thereby confidence in, the availability of sustainable bio- and waste-based products to substitute for their fossil equivalents and drive meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Biofuture Council enables:

1. Joint work between Governments and Industry regarding feedstock availability and sustainability governance.
2. Convergence of sustainability governance between various governmental jurisdictions and international agencies.
3. Rigorous approaches to carbon accounting for overcoming the policy and regulatory challenges associated with encouraging the substitution of bio-based product for their fossil equivalent.