Biodiplomacy, the new frontier for bioeconomy

Insights into the Sustainable Development of the Bioeconomy at the European Level, in the Context of the Desired Clean Environment

The increasing awareness of the impact of global climate change has brought bio-based projects back into consideration. Thus, having as supports the reality of the troubling scenario that threatens the entire ecosystem and the up-to-date theoretical discourse and debate on sustainable development, this article aims to investigate the socio-economic and institutional determinants that trigger the dynamics of the bioeconomy value added indicator-a valuable instrument developed and recently launched by the EU's BioMonitor project. Using a panel corrected standard errors framework, we find that investment in human development along with innovation, the growing role of women and sound public governance have a positive effect on the transition towards a durable and resilient bioeconomy at the European level. This naturally implies that a combination of social and technological innovation can ensure the rise of a sustainable bioeconomy.

Contextualization of the Bioeconomy Concept through Its Links with Related Concepts and the Challenges Facing Humanity

The concept of bioeconomy is a topic of debate, confusion, skepticism, and criticism. Paradoxically, this is not necessarily a negative thing as it is encouraging a fruitful exchange of information, ideas, knowledge, and values, with concomitant beneficial effects on the definition and evolution of the bioeconomy paradigm. At the core of the debate, three points of view coexist: (i) those who support a broad interpretation of the term bioeconomy, through the incorporation of all economic activities based on the production and conversion of renewable biological resources (and organic wastes) into products, including agriculture, livestock, fishing, forestry and similar economic activities that have accompanied humankind for millennia; (ii) those who embrace a much narrower interpretation, reserving the use of the term bioeconomy for new, innovative, and technologically-advanced economic initiatives that result in the generation of high-added-value products and services from the conversion of biological resources; and (iii) those who stand between these two viewpoints. Here, to shed light on this debate, a contextualization of the bioeconomy concept through its links with related concepts (biotechnology, bio-based economy, circular economy, green economy, ecological economics, environmental economics, etc.) and challenges facing humanity today is presented.

Conceptual evolution of the bioeconomy: a bibliometric analysis

The growing concern over the change in climatic conditions and the management and conservation of biological resources makes it necessary to create models suitable for the sustainable management of these resources. The bioeconomy suggests a model based on the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources into value-added products. The main aim of this article is to assess the impact of the bioeconomy on the scholar. This manuscript also aims to continue and update this discussion of public policies oriented toward a bioeconomy. This research follows a computed analysis based on the R package using Biblioshiny, a web interface for Bibliometrix analysis; this approach offers a positive alternative for studying bioeconomic literature in the traditional bibliometric analysis. This is one of the first research which analyzes the literature pathways of the bioeconomy issue using a computational analysis. Our article concludes that the principles of the bioeconomy have a strong potential to address these related challenges to manage and maintain the environment.

Bioeconomy moving forward step by step - A global journey

Continuous, inspiring and interconnected step-by-step changes in thought and understanding, knowhow, actions and behaviour have often been instrumental in transitions from one particular age to the next in human history. This also applies to the present century and its sustainability challenges at the planetary, regional and local levels. Therefore, it is of great importance and relevance to move forward on the journey which has been started globally to address the not insignificant number of challenges. It is however essential to go beyond descriptive work by continuing with novel, inspiring and interconnected steps to find solutions to overcome these challenges. As this huge task also requires multidimensional communication, understanding and actions across different regions, cultures, disciplines and knowledge areas, the development of a common conceptual framework such as the concept of bioeconomy has been accepted globally as very valuable. The momentum which has been created in more than 50 countries around the world by the growing number of activities, initiatives and strategies in bioeconomy is very encouraging. This offers great opportunities to mobilize even more stakeholders in science and industry, as well as society, to join the bioeconomy journey. Strategic high-level concepts such as preserving the value of the natural capital of planet earth, connecting economy and ecology, sustaining the boundary conditions and habitability of our biosphere are highly important. It is also essential on the bioeconomy journey to connect with highly specific and actionable missions, programs and plans towards sustainable economic growth under the boundary conditions of our planet.

Bioeconomy - present status and future needs of industrial value chains

The necessary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions requires a comprehensive shift from fossil to renewable raw materials. This is accompanied by a fundamental reorganization of the value chains of the energy sectors and large parts of the manufacturing industry. In the long term, bio-based industrial raw materials will be processed preferentially by the chemical industry. In order to use the raw materials as fully as possible, sectors that support cascade use and the recycling of by-products and products after use will gain in importance. These are in particular the waste management and energy sectors, which will be integrated into the circular value chains of the bioeconomy. The industrial realization of these value chains depends essentially on the legal framework conditions, which must be developed further accordingly.