Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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| ROADMAP | |
| Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work in order to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to make available any relevant information that they may have. | |
| Title of the initiative | European Bioeconomy Policy: Stocktaking and future developments |
| Lead DG – responsible unit | DG RTD.B.2. |
| Likely Type of initiative | Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions |
| Indicative Planning | Q1 2022 |
| Additional Information | https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/bioeconomy/bioeconomy-strategy\_en |
| This Roadmap is provided for information purposes only and its content might change. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the Roadmap, including its timing, are subject to change. | |

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| A. Context, Problem definition and Subsidiarity Check |
| Context [max 10 lines] |
| In October 2018, the European Commission adopted the Communication “A sustainable Bioeconomy for Europe: Strengthening the connection between economy, society and the environment” (from here on “Bioeconomy Strategy”) with an accompanying Staff Working Document. It was an update of the 2012 EU Bioeconomy Strategy. Within the Communication, the Commission commits to report regularly on the progress of the Strategy’s Action Plan and to adapt or discontinue activities that do not contribute to the Strategy’s objectives in a satisfactory manner. In November 2019, the Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on the Bioeconomy Strategy, stressing that a sustainable European bioeconomy should be one of the major components for the implementation of the European Green Deal. The conclusions called upon the incoming Commission to deliver a progress report and if appropriate with update of the action plan and/or the Strategy at the latest by 2022. |
| Problem the initiative aims to tackle [max 25 lines] |
| The European Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. While the climate is the most discussed part of our endangered Earth System, other threats, such ecosystem degradation, biodiversity decline, nutrient overload in soil and water, and pollution of many kinds, are at global scale and at unprecedented levels. These challenges force us to find new ways of producing and consuming that respect the ecological boundaries of our planet.    The bioeconomy has the potential to play an essential role in this transition by ensuring healthy ecosystems and tackling climate- and bio-security related challenges, while providing the resources meeting the needs of society. Already today, the bioeconomy employs 17.5 million people across the EU and generates €614 billion of added value to the EU’s economy. Sourcing from renewable biological resources, focussing on the principle of cascading use of biomass for high resource efficiency and including residuals and biological waste streams as part of the circular economy, the bioeconomy can provide food, feed, bio-based products, clean water and energy, thus replacing and reducing dependence on fossil resources. Novel bio-based value-chains can bring low climate impact alternatives to the market and generate new economic opportunities for primary producers, such as farmers, foresters and fishers, as well as for young and skilled entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in rural and coastal areas. The merging of biotechnological and digital innovation and breakthroughs will deliver on sustainability and generate significant new sources of economic value.    The Bioeconomy Strategy sets out an action plan with 14 concrete actions with the aim of deploying a sustainable and circular bioeconomy across the EU. To ensure that the development and deployment of the bioeconomy remains on track towards achieving the objectives, it is important to take stock of the progress of the Bioeconomy Strategy and its action plan. With the adoption of the European Green Deal, the policy context has changed significantly since the adoption of the Bioeconomy Strategy in 2018. It is further important to discuss the major opportunities and challenges within the bioeconomy, as well as the possible direction of future policy options to unlock the full potential of a circular and sustainable bioeconomy in the EU. |
| Basis for EU intervention (legal basis and subsidiarity check) [max 10 lines] |
| The Bioeconomy Strategy aims at responding to a number of cross-border challenges, which cannot be exclusively dealt with at Member State level: ensuring food and nutrition security, managing natural resources sustainably, minimising the risk of the occurrence and spreading of zoonoses, reducing dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources whether sourced domestically or from abroad, mitigating and adapting to climate change and strengthening European competitiveness and creating jobs. Several of these objectives fall under Articles 191, 192, 193 of the TFEU, which gives the Union the competence to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment and the prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources. Moreover, regarding the action plan, it is relevant to note that Articles 179(1), 181(1), 185 TFEU give the Union the overall competence to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States with regard to their research and technological development activities. The European Bioeconomy Strategy and its action plan build on a shared competence. An assessment of the progress of the Bioeconomy Strategy and its action plan was also requested by the Council. |
| B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how [max 25 lines] |
| The Bioeconomy Progress report will set out the state of play of the European Bioeconomy and assess the progress of the implementation of the Bioeconomy Strategy and its action plan. In addition, it will provide the opportunity to present the contribution of the bioeconomy and the Bioeconomy Strategy in the context of Europe’s ambition to achieve a climate-neutral economy by 2050 as set out in the European Green Deal.    The Report will highlight the bioeconomy’s holistic and systemic approach to managing biological resources within the EU’s economy, while having sustainability and circularity at its core. The report will take a particular look at the essential added value of this approach within the context of the Green Deal: going beyond and bridging important sectoral and cross-cutting policies and actors (e.g. agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, industry, energy, waste management, environment and climate), and using science and knowledge to address trade-offs between different targets (e.g. climate and biodiversity) and competing uses of biomass, land and aquatic resources. As demand for biomass may increase hand in hand with the need to reduce dependence on fossil resources, the value-added of this holistic approach grows as a means of avoiding harmful pressure on ecosystems and the environment. Considering the various sectors of the bioeconomy holistically rather than in isolation can provide a good basis for prioritising uses of biomass. Focusing on the cascading and circular use of biomass, i.e. maximising the design of durable circular materials and products and the upcycling of residues and bio-based recycled material to innovative solutions replacing the fossil-based ones, remains essential.    The report will also aim to clarify how the Bioeconomy Strategy complements related sectoral and cross-cutting policies (e.g. Biodiversity Strategy, Farm to Fork Strategy, Zero Pollution Action Plan, A New Industrial Strategy for Europe, European Climate Law, etc.), which synergies are created and how they are or can be supported.     While the implementation of the Bioeconomy Strategy Action Plan is still on-going, the report will serve as a basis for discussion of possible future directions and options for maximising the contribution of the bioeconomy to achieving the Green Deal objectives and supporting its main actions. |
| C. Better regulation |
| Consultation of citizens and stakeholders [max 10 lines] |
| A dedicated stakeholder workshop will be organised as part of the preparation of the progress report. In addition, a broad range of stakeholders are being engaged in the implementation of the Bioeconomy Strategy, e.g. through workshops such as the "Workshop on Promoting Education, Training and Skills across the Bioeconomy" or through the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy Community of Practice. Their views will be taken on board in the Bioeconomy Progress Report as part of the implementation of the action plan, but also e.g. through the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research, the Commission Expert Groups, and through various H2020 projects. The European Bioeconomy Policy Forum has already provided a platform for exchanging views on bioeconomy issues and will continue to be consulted on the progress of the bioeconomy. |
| Evidence base and data collection [max 10 lines] |
| The European Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy, the EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System, the long-term JRC Biomass Mandate including e.g. the report on "The use of woody biomass for energy production in the EU", the Bioeconomy Foresight reports, the Circular Economy actions on bio-based sectors and products and various Horizon 2020 projects, provide significant evidence regarding the European Bioeconomy. Sectoral monitoring systems, such as the Forest Information System for Europe (FISE) and the Biodiversity Information System for Europe (BISE) aim to provide more accurate, frequent and harmonised data on the status and management of their ecosystems.  Feedback received from Member States and other institutions, in particular through the European Bioeconomy Policy Forum will be considered. Also feedback from stakeholders obtained through various events will be used. |

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