Towards a Bioeconomy in Europe: National, Regional and Industrial Strategies

Establishing an advanced European bioeconomy is an important step in achieving the transition towards sustainable development and away from fossil fuels. The bioeconomy can be defined as an economy based on the sustainable production and conversion of renewable biomass into a range of bio-based products, chemicals, and energy. Several strategies have been produced in Europe from different perspectives that outline visions, intentions, and recommendations for the transition to a bioeconomy. 

As part of the f3 project  "Transition to a bio-economy", researchers Matteo de Besi and Kes McCormick from IIIEE at Lund University have published an open access article on their analysis of twelve of these strategies. The analysis was conducted using a meta-analytical framework. The paper outlines the results of this study covering national, regional, and industrial perspectives on the bio-based economy in Europe. The analysis shows that a common direction for the bioeconomy, based on research and technological innovation in the various applications of biotechnology, is developing in Europe. It highlights the important role that the regional level will play in facilitating collaborations between industries and research institutions needed to foster innovation and optimize the use of biomass.

The analysis also identifies that the development of European bio-based product markets are needed for bioeconomy expansion. However, the transition needs to have a lifecycle perspective in order to ensure that an economy founded on biomass is sustainable and equitable.

The article is accessible from MDPI – Open Access Publishing. You'll find more information about the project here at the f3 website.

IIIEE stands for International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics.