What the barriers currently are

Problems with the implementation of the Bioeconomy

There are a number of barriers to the successful implementation of the Bioeconomy in the Member States and in Europe. A key issue is the overall sustainability of the value-chain, from primary production and its inputs, over logistics and trade, towards the refining of the bio-resources into multiple products and finally the use and end-use of the product (e.g. recycling vs. incineration).

There are also a number of technical problems: where and how to best produce a certain bio-resource? How to use very different bio-based feedstocks within a single biorefinery? How to standardize bio-based products?

Then, there are “market problems”: How to reflect superior environmental performance of these products on the market? How to create a level playing field for the different uses of bio-resources (e.g. subsidies for the use of biomass for energy generation)? How can profitable business cases look like? Which value chains (i.e. biomass to final product chain) are sustainable and profitable at the same time? How can they be made profitable in a transition period?

Which finally also leads to “policy problems”: What is the fittest policy framework for the Bioeconomy? How can different interests and different starting positions in the race towards the implementation of the Bioeconomy be balanced? How to deal with incoherent outcomes of different policies?