The European chemical industry wants to boost the bioeconomy to support the green transition


Europe’s growth strategy, with the Green Deal and the Recovery and Resilience plan, provides an important opportunity for the bioeconomy to scale up, as investments in new innovative and (more) sustainable bio-based industries can play a critical role to support the green transition. The Commission’s 2020 Strategic Foresight Report mentions the potential of a sustainable bioeconomy, to transform Europe’s agricultural and industrial base and create new jobs, whilst enhancing our natural resources and ecosystems.

“Sustainable bioeconomy activities are a pre-requisite to remain below the 1.5°C limit of global temperature rise, as well as to work towards the EU Green Deal’s ultimate goal of climate neutrality by 2050” according to a new Cefic paper on how the European chemical industry can boost its bioeconomy sector. Regardless of their key role, Cefic’s paper reveals that bio-based products (BBPs) from the chemicals and plastics sector currently only represent a small portion of the whole European bioeconomy sector: they generate approximately 2.5% of the total bioeconomy turnover.

Where does the potential lie?

In its Mid-Century Vision, Cefic predicts that biomass consumption for production of chemicals will have doubled by 2050 with respect to 2018. To meet this forecast, both the chemical industry and EU policymakers will need to take certain measures to scale up the bioeconomy.

Cefic believes that renewable resources of biological origin offer the chemical industry an opportunity to diversify its feedstocks to produce bio-based product (BBPs). A Joint Research Centre (JRC) study identified 10 potential BBP categories. Two of these categories, referred to as ‘platform’ and ‘bio-based plastics’ represent only 3% of the bio-based industry, yet speak for 75% of the total chemical production, meaning both bio and fossil.  Cefic considers it essential to increase the share of bio-based products primarily in these two categories to enhance the overall share of bio-based products.  

Not only does the chemical industry commit to increasing its share of bio-based products, it intends to do so with an improved sustainability profile and a performance and functionality which is at least equal to or better than existing alternatives which are currently mostly fossil derived. In turn, Cefic calls upon the policymakers to provide a supportive policy framework to bring the bio-based production at scale.

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