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The new idea looks like a big bio-chemical “revelation” in the continent: i.e. the Commission has unveiled recently its long-trailed plan to “turbocharge the EU’s bioeconomy”, which was worth €2.7 trillion in 2023 and employed about 17+ million people (around 8% of the EU jobs). As the EU officials believe, the new sector has still plenty of untapped potential.
Bio-transition: new public-private agenda
By 2040, the Commission envisions “sustainable bio-based materials and products”; i.e. extensive use of such “bio-products” as plastics, textiles, fertilizers, building materials, etc. being widely deployed across the EU member states, according to the latest press release.
Actually, the main idea of a new EU-wide bio-economy’s strategy is to cut fossil fuels consumption and boost green growth: by using valuable renewable resources, the member states can increase employment, drive innovation and promote circular economy’s directions. By such a strategy the EU-27 intends creating a greener, more resilient “social-market economy” powered by “natural factors” and human innovation.
New “Strategic Framework for a Competitive and Sustainable EU Bioeconomy”, is drafting paths towards creating “a clean, competitive and resilient European economy”. Thus, by using renewable biological resources (e.g. from land and sea) and providing alternatives to critical raw materials, the member states will move forward towards a more circular and decarbonised economy and can decrease dependence on fossil imports.
With this new strategy, the EU will support activities that provide sustainable practical solutions using our biological resources in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, biomass processing, biomanufacturing and biotechnologies. It will harness vast potentials of these resources, scientific excellence and industrial base, as well as encourage innovations that benefit climate, nature and society’s wellbeing.
Citations from: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2819
The bioeconomy covers the use of “biological resources” to create added value: they include products, services, science and technologies benefiting a number of sectors ranging from agriculture and forestry to fisheries and aquaculture. Using biomass processing, biomanufacturing and biotechnologies, the bioeconomy supports food, health, energy, industry and ecosystem services.
The new “strategic framework” for a competitive and sustainable EU bioeconomy builds on the 2012 Bioeconomy Strategy and the reviews carried out in 2018 and 2022, shifting the focus towards industrial deployment, market scale-up, competitiveness and resilience.
More in the 2012 Bioeconomy Strategy in: European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, “Innovating for sustainable growth – A bioeconomy for Europe”, Publications Office of the European Union, 2012, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/6462
The real pivotal shift is expected, ending fossil fuel dependence followed by the energy facilities: i.e. replacement of fossil feedstocks in industrial supply chains. And more, plastics and fertilizers -two most fossil-intensive product groups in the EU – are going to be first “for disruption”; so farmers are not forgotten, e.g. there are also plenty of agriculture nuggets subject to transition: from bio-based fertilizers and pesticides to wool processing capacity. Hence, the EU farm budget is expected to contribute to supporting farmers taking-up “bioeconomy innovation.”
E.g. the Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall for the strategy’s show was wearing a dress made of wood fibers, and a press room features bio-based goodies: a bathtub made from wood splinters, algae-based cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and a full “circular-economy’s catwalk”.
Bio-based business in the member states
To lead the bio-tech revolution, innovation and investment need to be scaled up, so that research does not remain in the labs. Scaling up bio-based innovations requires a combination of public and private investments, as well as a streamlined regulatory environment.
The Commission will work to create a coherent and simplified regulatory framework that rewards circular and sustainable business models, while safeguarding EU safety standards. Faster, clearer and simpler approvals for innovative solutions will support companies to develop and grow in Europe, especially for SMEs.
The Commission will also ensure that existing and future EU funding goes into bio-based technologies. And to stimulate private investment, the Commission proposes to convene a Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group to create a pipeline of bankable projects, share risk more effectively, and crowd in private capital.
The bioeconomy, actually, is already part of peoples’ daily lives: e.g. the lip balm made of beeswax, cork-sole shoes, linen sheets and biodegradable planting pots, etc. that are all so-called bio-based. Across Europe, more and more bio-based products are replacing fossil-based ones, from bio-based plastics to algae-based cosmetics and even car parts and eye glass frames from olive pruning waste. Farmers are experimenting with biofertilizers using organic residues from the fruit and vegetable sector and industries are working to develop food packaging made from agricultural waste. These projects are cutting emissions, reducing waste, and creating new jobs. The bioeconomy is about the circular, smarter use of resources.
And the bioeconomy can be sustainable; it “works with nature, not against it”. The EU Bioeconomy Strategy prioritises sustainably managed forests and the use of by-products, residues and waste. For example, sawdust from sawmills can be turned into building panels, and sugar beet pulp can be turned into paper. The EU has a Forest Strategy in place to improve the quantity and quality of EU forests: thus, the bioeconomy relies on healthy, sustainably managed forests.
More in “EU Forest Strategy for 2030” in: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/forest-strategy_en
The ultimate goal of the Bioeconomy Strategy is to coordinate rules about biomass use, to develop biobased sectors while reducing reliance on fossil fuels – without damaging the environment.
More in: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/bioeconomy-strategy/facts-about-bioeconomy_en
To unlock investment and enable scale-up, the Commission identified innovative markets for bio-based materials and technologies. These include bio-based sectors, such as plastics, fibres, textiles, chemicals, fertilisers, plant protection products, construction materials, biorefineries, advanced fermentation and permanent storage of biogenic carbon, which have high potential for both economic growth and environmental benefits. The Commission will boost demand for bio-based content in products, for example by setting targets in relevant legislation. The Strategy proposes to set up a Bio-based Europe Alliance, which will be gathering EU companies to collectively purchase bio-based solutions worth €10 billion by 2030.
Main strategy’s pillars
The Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall underlined the following main strategy’s directions:
= First, in order to lead the “bio-tech revolution”, the member states have to scale up innovation and investment: e.g. using microalgae to produce food or cosmetics, making edible packaging from vegetable waste, and/or even producing batteries with bacteria. But the states are slow in deployment, and too many breakthroughs remain small-scale or stuck in the lab.
= The second pillar includes building strong lead markets in bio-products: in order to maximising the potential of bio-based construction materials, chemicals, textiles, plastics and fertilisers, as well as including technologies such as biorefineries and advanced fermentation. The EU will set targets for bio-based plastics in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, set durability requirements for textiles under the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation, promote the inclusion of bio-based products in public procurement, and set-up the Bio-based Europe Alliance (gathering EU companies to collectively purchase bio-based solutions worth €10 billion by 2030.
= The third pillar is about sustainability: while boosting competitiveness, the EU needs resilience; the EU is largely self-sufficient in biomass, but it has to “manage” forests, soils, seas and other ecosystems wisely, within ecological limits, as without healthy ecosystems, there can be no bioeconomy, and without it the member states would not meet the climate, competitive and social goals. The circularity is key: the upcoming Circular Economy Act will include measures to improve the collection and use of biomass waste. And the Commission will stimulate demand for carbon farming units through Nature Credits and an EU Buyers’ Club.
= The fourth pillar promotes EU’s role in leading the global bioeconomy: driven by science and innovation, based on existing natural resources and raw materials, and supported by the EU-wide Single Market. And crucially, the strategic framework will reduce the member states reliance on vulnerable global supply chains and fossil-based imports for energy.
Reference to: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_25_2827
Bottom-line
The new “bioeconomic strategy” stresses the need for sourcing biomass responsibly, ensuring that forests, soils and water are managed within their ecological limits. By promoting circularity and enhancing the value of secondary biomass, some existing key “sectors” (such as agricultural residues, by-products and organic waste), the Commission will set up initiatives rewarding farmers and foresters protecting soils, enhancing carbon sinks and supporting sustainable biomass use.
Finally, with the EU-wide strong research base and innovative industries, the member states are “well positioned to become a global leader in sustainable bio-based technologies, materials, products and expertise”, notes the Commission. And with this strategy, the EU will support European industrial sectors in accessing global markets by securing partnerships that reduce vulnerability and ensuring that the EU is not dependent on a single region or a single resource.
In the current fragile geopolitical climate, resource security enhances EU’s competitiveness and resilience.
More on the “strategic plan” for the EU-wide bioeconomy in:
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/bioeconomy-strategy_en