We need a fundamentally different economy!
by Jenny Walther-Thoß, WWF As the world population grows, arithmetically, the available land area per person is becoming smaller and smaller, while at the same time the demand for fossil raw materials such as mineral oil continues to rise. The substitution of fossil raw materials by renewable resources for a transition towards a bioeconomy, can only succeed if, all in all, we produce and consume less. Foto: © Eva-Maria Lopez In this debate, to many stakeholders the bioeconomy is the silver lining to keep our growth-oriented economic system running with minimal adjustments. The rationale is: A pinch of efficiency combined with slightly more recycling, enables us to substitute fossil carbon, which industry is currently largely dependent on, by renewable resources without a need to fundamentally change consumption patterns and lifestyles. The “cornification of the landscape” has become a symbol of misguided biofuel subsidies, and has moved the debate in the energy sector forward. Whereas representatives of the chemical industry are becoming quite euphoric about new business sectors in the field of bioplastics. The following …