What is a Bioeconomy?
The term bioeconomy refers to economic activities based on the production of biological-based products. The definition is broad and somewhat ambiguous, encompassing clean energy, green technologies, and a host of sustainable initiatives. Bioeconomic focus on renewable energy production, substantial recycling programs, and placing a value on mitigating climate change. A recent study identifies that sustainable bioeconomies require “low-carbon energy inputs, sustainable supply chains, and promising disruptive conversion technologies for the sustainable transformation of renewable bioresources to high-value bio-based products, materials, and fuels.”
Over the past few years, discussions regarding bioeconomies have evolved to focus on circular bioeconomies, which involve the process of product creation, use, and recycling that leaves the lowest environmental footprint possible. Given that specifically defining bioeconomy activities is nebulous, it allows governments to tailor the definition to align with their national/regional interests. Some biology-based technologies are included within bioeconomy activities in some jurisdictions, while they are excluded by other authorities. Common components of bioeconomy activities include bioenergy, biofuels, bioplastics, bioproducts, and biotechnology, amongst others.
Bioeconomy Activities and Investments in Europe
The European Green Deal is the European Union’s bioeconomy strategy. The EU has opted to focus, and invest, more on renewable, green, and clean technologies. Products from agricultural biotechnology are not part of the EU’s bioeconomy strategy. In 2020, the European Commission announced the key objectives of its bioeconomy strategy, which include:
- Ensuring food and nutrition security;
- Managing natural resources sustainably;
- Reducing dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources;
- Limiting and adapting to climate change; and
- Strengthening European competitiveness and creating jobs.
Europe has invested more heavily into developing a bioeconomy than many other parts of the world. The EU has pledged to invest €1.8 trillion by 2050 to fund and subsidize their bioeconomy strategy. This degree of financial commitment to investing in the further development of the bioeconomy is larger than any other country or region.
Bioeconomy Activities and Investments in the USA
The USA has been a leading country regarding support for biotechnology, which has been a cornerstone of their bioeconomy strategy, as has the development of biofuels. The USA first approved genetically modified (GM) crops for production in 1994 (tomato) and has been the leading global producer of GM crops for the past 30 years. A key part of the US government’s support of biotechnology has been an efficient regulatory system for the commercialized products, as the US has more GM crop types approved and being produced than any other country.
In 2022, the US government announced a $2 billion investment into biotechnology and biomanufacturing which would be used to support the “development of capabilities for engineering biology, advance biomanufacturing processes and technologies, and help utilize artificial intelligence to analyze biological data”. In the fall of 2024, the US National Science Foundation announced an $82 million investment into international bioeconomy development with partners in Canada, Finland, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The collaborative efforts of the six partnering nations are designed to advance “bioeconomy research to solve global challenges, whether by increasing crop resilience, converting plant matter or other biomass into fuel, or paving the way for biofoundries to scale up applications of biotechnology for societal benefit”. At this point, there is no confirmation that this funding support will be guaranteed under the Trump administration.
The USA has long supported the development and expansion of biofuels, bioethanol, and biodiesel. In 2023, the US government announced $450 million in support of further development of biofuels. This continuation of government support indicates that biofuels will remain an important part of the future of America’s bioeconomy strategy for the coming decade.
Canada's History of Bioeconomy Initiatives
Like the USA, Canada has not, until recently, referred to a specific bioeconomy strategy, but rather supported the development of biofuels, bioproducts, and biotechnology. Canada has been a strong supporter of innovative research into biotechnology, which has driven much of the development of Canada’s bioeconomy contributions. The development of GM crops has driven sustainability improvements in Canadian agriculture, resulting in increased carbon sequestration, which contributes to climate change mitigation. With GM research beginning in 1986 and products commercialized in 1995, they have been a major cornerstone of Canada’s bioeconomy developments.
A Canadian Bioproduct Focus
In 2003, the Federal Ministry of Industry Canada established the Bioproducts Secretariat, and in 2004 the National Research Council released a report on the development of Canada’s bioproduct and bioprocessing research and development (R&D) strategy. The focus of this report was on the development of biofuels, which is the production of ethanol and diesel from agricultural and forestry biomass, such as crop residues or waste forest material. It also highlighted other aspects such as turning human and animal waste into fertilizers that could be utilized in food production. At this time, biochemicals accounted for 41% of the bioproduct sector, with biofuels second at 19%. There was an increase in biofuel plants between 2000 and 2010, however, the anticipated technology transition to second-generation biofuel strategies, such as using consumer product waste (e.g., coffee cups), proved to be a substantial barrier to the profitability of such facilities.
Support for bioproducts continued when the federal government announced that increased bioproduct development was an important priority in 2015. As part of the support for this sector, the government also announced the establishment of the Bioeconomy Interdepartmental Working Group within the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The objective of this Working Group was to bring together federal departments and agencies to improve coordination and highlight opportunities for collaboration. A second partnership was announced, the establishment of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Bioproducts Working Group to identify potential benefits and key challenges facing the bioproducts sector both federally and provincially.
Canada has also had a small but continued bioproduct focus based on using crop and forest biomass. Examples of this include converting flax straw/fibres into biomaterials for automotive and construction industries, utilizing other crop residues to produce biobased chemicals for household cleaning products, and​ generating bioenergy from agricultural waste to power local communities.​ More recently, Canada has had targeted discussions and focused efforts on a specific bioeconomy strategy. In 2018, a targeted bioeconomy strategy was proposed by a large group of organizations within Canada’s bioeconomy sector. This strategy identifies several key factors that will be vital for success, including a modern regulatory system that enables innovation, provides certainty to industry, and enables the bioeconomy; establishing a biomass supply and good stewardship of agricultural and forestry lands; enabling a business climate that supports the scaling up of Canadian companies in the bioeconomy and makes Canada a top country in which to invest; and a strong sustainable bioeconomy ecosystem with an emphasis on value chain creation, job training, and skills development.
Bioproducts Rather than Bioeconomy
While bioeconomy development and a circular bioeconomy are buzz words in many countries, Canada has opted to be more product-oriented regarding policy development in this sector. Canada, Europe, and the USA have all supported the development of bioeconomy aspects, each supporting those while best aligns with where competitive advantages exist. Canada has a competitive advantage in bioproduct development from agriculture and forestry byproducts, while the USA has supported biofuels. Canada has a 40-year history of supporting bioeconomy initiatives from the start of biotechnology investments, policies, and regulations to more recent bioproduct announcements. While the word bioeconomy isn’t used as commonly as in other countries, Canada has been a global leader in this sector.
