The European Commission held the first Bioeconomy Conference on 6-7 October as a hybrid event.
The Conference discussed the progress in the implementation of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, and the importance of the bioeconomy for future economic growth and to face challenges such as pandemics and the current energy crisis. It gathered different stakeholders ranging from policymakers, companies, researchers, to the new batch of Bioeconomy Youth Ambassadors, who emphasized the call for action.
It was discussed, how in the past years, bioeconomy has dynamically evolved being integrated into different sectors’ strategies, as well as the increase of countries and regions implementing bioeconomy strategies. In the session “The bioeconomization of the regions”, speakers discussed the importance of defining regional roadmaps according to specialized value chains, and the need for stronger alliances and synergies among regions to promote a strategic use of the resources. The existence of different clusters at the European level was also mentioned as a key to fill strategic gaps.
In the context of an ever-changing environment, the need of redefining priorities and of tackling trade-offs (e.g. in the use of biomass) was one of the most important conclusions of the event. Among the different calls for action and further steps to take, panelists mentioned: cooperation and exchange at a regional, country and global level; tackling inequalities; more large-scale private investment; and more resilient approaches in strategies.
Photo: FAO
