The alliance argues that policy instruments such as quotas or targets are needed to ensure that sufficient bio-based raw materials are available for the chemical industry. This should create a level playing field with fossil carbon and the competing fuel sector. Furthermore, policy must allow for the full interchangeability of first-generation biomass for both fuels and chemicals in order to maximise the flexibility and resilience of the bioeconomy.
Food competition
The report, entitled “Benefits of using first-generation biomass for food, fuels, chemicals and derived materials in Europe”, refutes the popular misconception that industrial use of agricultural crops leads to food competition. The researchers emphasise that the industrial use of this biomass actually contributes to the resilience of the food chain in two crucial ways:
- The processing of wheat and maize for the biobased industry, for example, produces large quantities of proteins and fibres as valuable by-products. These are essential for human and animal nutrition and thus help to solve an important protein bottleneck in the European food chain.
- The ability to flexibly shift crops between the food and industrial markets creates a rapid and economical “virtual emergency reserve.” This allows industrial biomass to be immediately diverted to the food market in times of scarcity. This practice has already been successfully applied during the war in Ukraine.
Sustainable agriculture and chemistry
The economic, cost-efficient and large-scale availability of first-generation sugars and starches is indispensable for achieving European climate targets, according to the nova-Institute. Second-generation alternatives are generally much more expensive, which limits their large-scale application in the transition of the chemical sector.
Furthermore, this market flexibility strengthens the resilience of the agricultural sector. Farmers gain greater economic security through access to multiple markets, which stimulates investment in high-tech agriculture. This results in higher yields, lower resource consumption, and makes the European agricultural sector more sustainable and competitive. Efficient food crop cultivation would also be the most efficient way to produce raw materials, reducing overall land use. This would benefit nature and biodiversity conservation.
The full report can be downloaded (as a PDF) from the European Bioeconomy Alliance website.
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