BIOECONOMY POLICIES: BUILDING UP EUROPE

Friday, September 30th (09h30-11h00)
Room C

The Bioeconomy leverages innovations in (life)sciences and bio-industries to achieve ecological and social sustainable growth and employment based on the wealth of biological resources. Given the background of climate change, dwindling fossil and mineral resources, the global food situation and great advances in life sciences, the different countries in the world have made considerable efforts to position themselves in the biobased economy. The European Union and the OECD have provided a lot of political momentum in recent years and are calling for increased international collaboration to foster the development of a global bioeconomy. A strong European bio-based industrial sector will significantly reduce Europe’s dependency on fossil-based products, help the EU meet climate change targets, and lead to greener and more environmentally friendly growth. This nascent sector is expected to grow rapidly and create new markets and jobs, and is already attracting substantial investments. Several countries in Europe, such as Germany or Spain, are providing much support to promote the development of the biobased economy in practise through the development and publication of their own National Bioeconomy strategy. The implementation and development based on and supported by EU policy strategies is highly important for a real promotion of and a sustainable growth based on the bioeconomy principles. Furthermore, the funding planned for the bioeconomy under the H2020 and former framework research programme and other national programmes plays a central role in this promotion. Here we will bring two “success cases” in which their approach strategies for the bioeconomy implementation have become an example for the biobased and scientific entities. With this session, we seek to prepare the grounds for an intensified dialogue on bioeconomy policy among the stakeholders and main players.

Moderator & Speaker:

Alfredo Aguilar: Chairman, Bioeconomy Task Force, Member of the Executive Board, EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY (Belgium). "Vision of the Bioeconomy from the European perspective" 

Speakers: