I was recently invited to present to the membership of Bioenergy Australia on the topic of policy support and bioenergy systems. I talked primarily about experiences from Europe and Sweden, and what lessons Australia could learn, especially with the political committment to implement an emissions trading scheme in Australia.

Bioenergy Australia was established in 1997 as a government-industry forum to foster and facilitate the development of biomass for energy, liquid fuels, and other value added bio-based products. Bioenergy Australia is concerned with all aspects of biomass and bioenergy, from production through to utilisation, and its work embraces technical, commercial, economic, societal, environmental, policy and market issues.

The meeting held in Canberra, the capital of Australia, attracted 70 participants from government, industry and academia. A lively discussion followed my presentation on what key lessons Australia could learn from Europe, and particularly Sweden. It was a very enjoyable day, and highlighted the importance of building partnerships and sharing knowledge between different regions of the world in the "fight" against climate change.