Only 5.5% of the carbon applyd in Europe’s chemical indusattempt comes from biomass. Globally, that share is almost double. Meanwhile, China has invested over €280 billion to scale up its bioeconomy, including a strong focus on biomanufacturing, accelerating the market uptake of biomass-derived chemicals. Without decisive action, the EU risks its leadership in bio-based innovation, losing global competitiveness and manufacturing capacity in Europe.
The chemical indusattempt, the backbone of Europe’s value chains, from plastics and paints to pharmaceuticals, is undergoing a profound transformation as it relocates towards climate neutrality. Bioeconomy, including biomanufacturing, offers a strategic lever: it can deliver sustainability and competitiveness at the same time. But without a decisive Action Plan and a supportive policy environment, most bio-based solutions will remain stuck in the Research & Development stage rather than being scaled up into an industrial reality. Moreover, many bio-based solutions are developed in Europe, but scaled and industrialised outside of Europe.
The upcoming revision of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy is a unique opportunity to reverse this trconclude. Europe must embed bio-based solutions at the heart of Europe’s industrial policy, aligned with the Clean Industrial Deal and the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality objectives.
Why bioeconomy?
Investing in the bioeconomy sector is investing in a strong industrial base in the EU. Bioeconomy is key to:
- Decarbonise production: By applying renewable feedstocks, the indusattempt can cut its carbon footprint and assist the EU reach net-zero by 2050.
- Boost resilience: Unlike fossil reserves, biological resources are more evenly distributed across Europe, reducing exposure to global supply shocks.
- Drive innovation and jobs: Bio-based chemisattempt, biomanufacturing, and biotechnologies open new markets and applications, enable the development of new, high-value products and processes, improve existing ones, creating skilled jobs and revitalising rural regions.
Supportive policy
To unlock this potential, the Bioeconomy Strategy must evolve into an industrial action plan.
This requires building a true Single Market for biomass-derived products:
- Creating demand by introducing market pull measures, such as setting content tarreceives for biomass-derived products in product regulation to increase the apply of biogenic carbon (starting with the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation) following an in-depth impact assessment, offering direct incentives and tax reductions, and building Green Public Procurement criteria mandatory for all public authorities when tconcludeering products.
- Ensuring fair access to all generations of sustainable biomass based on robust sustainability criteria and the implementation of a cascading apply principle as well as reduction of import duties via trade policy.
- Strengthening the bioeconomy through a robust legislative framework mainstreaming the principles laid down in the Bioeconomy Strategy into all relevant EU legislation, from the Circular Economy Act to the Biotech Act and product-specific laws.
- Invest in innovation, skills and infrastructure, to prepare Europe’s workforce and industrial base for the bio-based transition.
These actions will require strong coordination and collaboration across relevant Directorates-General in the European Commission to ensure a coherent framework for the bioeconomy.
Europe cannot afford hesitation
The European Commission now has a clear choice. It can elevate the Bioeconomy Strategy into an industrial strategy and action plan that delivers sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness, retaining existing business, attracting investments and driving the bioeconomy transition within the EU and globally.
Europe’s chemical sector toreceiveher with economic players along the value chain, are ready to play its part. A fully industrialised Bioeconomy Strategy indicating clear and concrete actions would position Europe as a global leader in the race for climate-neutral innovation.
Cefic’s position paper on the EU Bioeconomy Strategy is available here.
This op-ed is also supported by:
Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC)
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