A Path Transition Towards a Bioeconomy—The Crucial Role of Sustainability
1
Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
2
Institute for Infrastructure and Resources Management, Leipzig University, Grimmaische Str. 12, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2019, 11(11), 3005; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113005
Received: 30 March 2019 / Revised: 10 May 2019 / Accepted: 22 May 2019 / Published: 28 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Bioeconomy)
The bioeconomy is a worldwide used strategy to cope with ecological, social, and economic sustainability challenges. However, we analyze current bioeconomy strategies and trends to point out potential sustainability conflicts and transition challenges. Our analysis shows that the bioeconomy is not sustainable per se, as mere input substitution may entail welfare losses. Instead, it requires further debates and actions to avoid exacerbation of ecological and social strains. Sustainability has to be the key concept behind the bioeconomy and predominantly requires (1) sustainability of the resource base and (2) sustainability of processes and products, especially by (3) circular processes of material fluxes, not least to gain consumer acceptance for bio-based products. Otherwise, the bioeconomy would only entail the substitution of fossil resources for bio-based resources potentially lacking the generation of additional societal and ecological benefits and contribution to climate mitigation. As markets alone will not suffice to fulfil this path transition towards a sustainable bioeconomy, we argue that innovative governance is necessary to reduce competitive drawbacks compared to fossil resources (enabling function) and to secure ecological, social, and economic sustainability requirements (limiting function).
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Keywords:
bioeconomy; transition; governance; integrated policies; sustainable development goals (SDGs); sustainability conflicts
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MDPI and ACS Style
Gawel, E.; Pannicke, N.; Hagemann, N. A Path Transition Towards a Bioeconomy—The Crucial Role of Sustainability. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3005. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113005
AMA Style
Gawel E, Pannicke N, Hagemann N. A Path Transition Towards a Bioeconomy—The Crucial Role of Sustainability. Sustainability. 2019; 11(11):3005. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113005
Chicago/Turabian StyleGawel, Erik; Pannicke, Nadine; Hagemann, Nina. 2019. "A Path Transition Towards a Bioeconomy—The Crucial Role of Sustainability" Sustainability 11, no. 11: 3005. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113005
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