An overview of suitable regional policies to support bio-based business models : (deliverable 4.2)

Abstract

This report presents the outcome of Task 4.2 in the POWER4BIO project. The aim of this this report is to give an overview of public policies and regulations for the bio-based economy (BBE) with special attention to policy integration over different scales (from EU, national to regional) and across different policy domains (environmental, sustainable development policy, energy, bioeconomy policy, etc.). First it presents what type of policies can regulate and stimulate the development of a bioeconomy in a direction that is environmentally and economically sustainable. For this overview it is first explained how we can define the bioeconomy sector by presenting a bioeconomy system overview. This overview then provides an ordering mechanism to explain the different types of policies that can regulate and stimulate the bioeconomy in a region directly or indirectly.

Socio-Economic and Environmental Implications of Bioenergy Crop Cultivation on Marginal African Drylands and Key Principles for a Sustainable Development

“…Not only does bioenergy need water, but agriculture also requires energy so that a purified and clean water source for irrigation systems can be provided [97]. Ultimately, the water resource impacts of BCSs need to be assessed, even though the implementation of a BCS on marginal land is generally considered a helpful tool in avoiding land-use conflicts with food crops [9,103]. Fresh water is a scarce resource as most of the world's water is salt water [9,103] (Figure 7).…”

“…Ultimately, the water resource impacts of BCSs need to be assessed, even though the implementation of a BCS on marginal land is generally considered a helpful tool in avoiding land-use conflicts with food crops [9,103]. Fresh water is a scarce resource as most of the world's water is salt water [9,103] (Figure 7). Only 2.6% of the world's water is freshwater (Figure 7) and much of it is not readily available at is it stored in ice [104].…”

“…Especially in the time of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it became clear that a decent sanitary system to ensure hygiene and access to safe and clean water is essential for preventing transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Dr. Sunita Narain, Direc- Ultimately, the water resource impacts of BCSs need to be assessed, even though the implementation of a BCS on marginal land is generally considered a helpful tool in avoiding land-use conflicts with food crops [9,103]. Fresh water is a scarce resource as most of the world's water is salt water [9,103] (Figure 7). Only 2.6% of the world's water is freshwater (Figure 7) and much of it is not readily available at is it stored in ice [104].…”

“…nario is even more alarming since feed production is forecasted to increase 70% globally and 100% in developing countries [7]. Hence, marginal lands in the last 20 years, including drylands, have won global interest as a potential source of land for the cultivation of crops, including bioenergy crops [5,[8][9][10]. A concrete definition of marginal land is complex to provide since the term is relative [11].…”

Switching to Biobased Products – The Brand Owner Perspective

“…Elbersen et al (2017) apply a categorization of incentives into: (category 1) regulations, (category 2) economic instruments, (category 3) voluntary approaches, (category 4) information and advice sharing systems, (category 5) market-based signalling approaches and (category 6) other measures/instruments not covered in the categories above such as vision documents, road maps and strategies. 38 Pelkmans et al call the last four types of instruments ''soft measures''. Mirroring this terminology, the first two types of instruments could be referred to as ''hard measures''.…”