Accelerating the European circular bioeconomy in 2023

Ed de Jong, Vice President of Development at Avantium, argues the case for accelerating the European circular bioeconomy in 2023
The European circular bioeconomy faces its pivotal moment as we edge closer to the EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality target. With warnings about climate tipping points (a term introduced by the IPCC 20 years ago) dominating the news agenda, the urgency has never been greater. We are very much in a climate crisis.

For Europe, commitment to climate action has taken the form of European bioeconomy strategies focusing on a circular bioeconomy – the concept of a renewable system pairing essentials such as food, land, materials and health with nature. This means the key to reaching circularity is the biodiversity around us. However, the next step will be how we come together to use our resources and knowledge collectively in the right way.

A centralised set of long-term goals, established with a clear European strategy, must co-exist with an economic model that can facilitate it. There must be a contribution from the broader political and economic influences to help create a viable, sustainable bioeconomy.

What preparations are needed to reach climate goals?

The message is clear with the EU 2030 climate targets and the subsequent climate neutrality by 2050 goal. To reach such end goals, there must be equal contribution and effort across the board – from businesses to scientists, innovators to political figures, citizens to consumers. Each has a powerful influence to take the steps towards a viable solution and will be most effective if done collaboratively.

The key is to make incremental steps towards circular change rather than take on too big a project too soon.

Moreover, this requires diverse innovation and thinking to cover the broad spectrum of a fully circular bioeconomy. For example, currently, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, and 22% is mismanaged. In comparison, global livestock production makes up 14.5% of all anthropogenic emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. While you can decarbonise the energy sector with wind, solar and thermal energy, the same cannot be said for the materials sector. The only way is to de-fossilise the materials industry, meaning that materials need to be recycled, and new carbon can be introduced via biomass and CO2.

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