Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy

This is the bi-monthly newsletter of the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy with information on some of the recent publications and news relevant for policymaking in the field of the bioeconomy.

This year we open up the Community of Practice on Bioeconomy to researchers, practitioners and policymakers from all over Europe and beyond. To express interest to be part of the Community of Practice on Bioeconomy, please fill out the survey.

For more information, you can browse and search our entire knowledge base by visiting the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy website.

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The coordination team

European Commission's Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy

Bioeconomy knowledge highlights

Register for the public event on solutions to reduce consumer food waste

On 5 June 2024, the European Commission organises a public event in Brussels, designed for policymakers at local, regional, and national levels, as well as for food businesses and other organisations committed to tackle consumer food waste. Experts and practitioners will discuss about best practices and effective policies to address consumer food waste, and give advice on how to design, monitor, and evaluate food waste reduction actions effectively. Registration is open until 31 May.

Mapping global forest cover of the year 2020 to support the EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains

This document presents the input data, methodology and a preliminary assessment of the first version of the Global Forest Cover map for year 2020 at 10m spatial resolution (GFC 2020). GFC 2020 builds on several global data sets and provides a harmonised, globally consistent and spatially explicit representation of forest presence and absence for year 2020. The map aims to support the implementation of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free supply chains. The primary access to GFC 2020 is via the EU Observatory on Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

Current national proposals are off track to meet carbon dioxide removal needs

The authors of this paper analyse if and how current national proposals for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) align with temperature targets. They observe that proposed CDR efforts by countries fall short of those in integrated assessment model scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C. The most ambitious proposals are close to levels in a low-energy demand scenario with limited CDR scaling and aggressive near-term emissions reductions. Many countries propose to expand land-based removals but have not yet committed to scaling up novel CDR methods.

Bioeconomy globalization: recent trends and drivers of national programs and policies

In 2020, the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy (IACGB) released a comprehensive report that analysed the progress of bioeconomy policies across the globe up until that year. This study builds on that report, analysing bioeconomy policy trends between 2020 and 2024. The study aims to contribute valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders involved in shaping the evolving bioeconomy landscape.

Accelerating the circular economy in Europe - State and outlook 2024

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Europe's transition towards a circular economy, highlighting progress and challenges. Despite the dedicated policies and the increased circular activities in EU Member States, Europe still operates under a predominantly linear mode. The report concludes that more needs to be done to achieve the 2030 targets and identifies potential actions for the future, such as making circular policies more binding and target-oriented, promoting higher quality recycling, and addressing the demand side.

Agri-environmental policies from 1960 to 2022

This research explores the association between economic development and agri-environmental policies and between the soil-related, agri-environmental policies of countries and their border discontinuities in cropland erosion. It presents a database of 6124 policies across 200 countries between 1960 and 2022, including various policy types and goals and reveals a strong positive link between economic development and implemented policies. Furthermore, it shows that 43% of global border discontinuities in soil erosion can be attributed to differences in policies.

European Bioeconomy Policy Forum brand new website

The European Bioeconomy Policy Forum provides a platform for structured dialogue between the Commission and Member States (MS). In particular, it collects input from MS to guide the implementation of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, inform wider policy developments and build the knowledge base on key bioeconomy-relevant policy developments and best practices at MS and EU level. This new dedicated webpage describes the objectives, working modalities and main outputs of the initiative, coordinated by DG Research and Innovation.

G20 Bioeconomy initiative

The Bioeconomy initiative of the G20 is based on three main axes: the role of science, technology, research, innovation, and traditional knowledge; the sustainable use of biodiversity; and the bioeconomy as a promoter of sustainable development. Brazil is promoting the discussion on bioeconomy at the G20 level, to build a common understanding and the definition of high-level principles.

The long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas: key achievements and ways forward

This report evaluates actions taken under the 2021-2027 EU Rural Action Plan, examining Common Agricultural Policy and cohesion policy contributions. Offering reflections and possible orientations for enhanced support, it discusses new indicators and data on rural areas, summarises 30 months of rural vision implementation, and proposes ways forward. The report, along with two staff working documents from the European Commission, concludes by suggesting opportunities for post-election debates on rural support.

Aquaculture: Commission shares recommendations and good practices

Following aquaculture producers’ calls, the Commission has published two staff working documents to facilitate the sustainable growth of aquaculture in the EU. The documents elaborate on the recommendations included in the EU strategic guidelines on facilitating the sustainable development of aquaculture in EU Member States, with the objective of streamlining the regulatory and administrative framework applicable to the sector, and ensuring adequate planning and allocation of space for marine aquaculture.

Food Waste Index Report 2024

This report aims to spur action towards SDG 12.3 by providing a deeper understanding of global food waste. Building on its 2021 predecessor, the report expands data coverage, refines measurement methodology across sectors, and explores effective solutions for food waste reduction, with a focus on public-private partnerships. By tracking progress and offering guidance, the report helps countries tackle the issue of food waste.

Global Resources Outlook 2024

The scientific community stresses the urgent need for global resource transformation to address the triple planetary crisis. This outlook reveals rising trends in resource use and predicts further increases. To combat this, bold policy action is crucial for phasing out unsustainable practices, promoting responsible innovation, and ensuring social equity in the necessary transitions. The path towards sustainability requires multilateral environmental agreement integration, sustainable resource use paths, and appropriate incentives.

Land use, land-use change and forestry

In the context of national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 2019), LULUCF is a GHG inventory sector that covers anthropogenic emissions and removals of GHG in managed lands, excluding non-CO2 agricultural emissions. Following the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories, ‘anthropogenic’ land-related GHG fluxes are defined as all those occurring on ‘managed land’, i.e., ‘where human interventions and practices have been applied to perform production, ecological or social functions’. Since managed land may include carbon dioxide (CO2) removals not considered as ‘anthropogenic’ in some of the scientific literature assessed in this report (e.g., removals associated with CO2 fertilisation and N deposition), the land-related net GHG emission estimates from global models included in this report are not necessarily directly comparable with LULUCF estimates in National GHG Inventories.

This is an edition of the enewsletter published by Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy via the European Commission's Knowledge4Policy platform

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