Bioeconomy stresses an economic shift from fossil-fuel based resources and products to renewable biological resources. To do this, bioeconomy will use biological resources from land and sea, as well as waste, as inputs to food and industrial and energy production. It also covers the use of bio-based processes.
The European Commission is working on a strategy and action plan for sustainability that goes beyond renewables, called sustainable bioeconomy.
Bioeconomy stresses an economic shift from fossil-fuel based resources and products to renewable biological resources. To do this, bioeconomy will use biological resources from land and sea, as well as waste, as inputs to food and industrial and energy production. It also covers the use of bio-based processes.
The commission has drafted a new action plan called «Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe.» It recommends investing in and developing new technologies and processes; enhancing markets; and pushing policymakers to work closely together.
Bioeconomy research and innovation is considered especially crucial. The commission estimates that each euro invested in this area will add 10 euros of value to the bioeconomy by 2025.
To this end, a 4.5 billion euro ($5.856 billion) challenge called «Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research, and the bioeconomy» has been proposed for Horizon 2020, the European Union’s program for research and innovation.
Currently, E.U. bioeconomy is said to have a turnover of nearly 2 trillion euros and employs more than 22 million people in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and pulp and paper production sectors, as well as parts of the chemical, biotechnological and energy industries. – EcoSeed Staff
