Experts gathered by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and DG Research and Innovation have built four alternative scenarios for the EU bioeconomy in 2050. They follow the European Commission’s 2020 Strategic Foresight Report which mentioned the potential of sustainable bioeconomy to transform Europe’s agricultural and industrial base and to create new jobs whilst enhancing our natural resources and ecosystems.
The scenarios describe plausible alternative narratives of the bioeconomy in 2050, based on the multiple drivers that can affect its future, and their interplay, and depending on the realisation of specific boundary conditions. Each scenario describes the world, Europe and the bioeconomy in 2050, but with political and policy variations, and consider the contributions to the objectives of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and to selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “Policies addressing all sectors of activity are more robust if supported by collective intelligence. The foresight process carried out by the European Commission provides scenarios alongside the opportunities and challenges they represent and helps to shape the future we want. This study by the Joint Research Centre is an important contribution and I invite all to enjoy the reading.”
The Commission plans to further explore these scenarios, in order to facilitate and strengthen strategic and systemic reflections amongst key stakeholders of the European bioeconomy.
Discover scenarios, strategic foresight and more info by visiting the official webpage here.