All posts tagged: Bioeconomy

Forests under pressure: why the bioeconomy threatens our ecosystems

By Peter Gerhardt The fossil era is coming to an end. Mankind will increasingly have to rely on renewable raw materials. The term bioeconomy has become established for this economy fed by biological resources. Forests get under pressure: their wood is considered to play a decisive role in the supply of raw materials for the bio-based future. Yet, the forest ecosystems are already being exhausted by the global demand for wood for fuel, construction material, electricity production or pulp for paper production. The natural limits of our planet are progressively entering the core of the political debate: Climate change is moving millions of people around the globe. With regard to the global climate, Brazil’s burning rainforests have long since ceased to be a national issue; they are also an issue for the global community. Even the dwindling biodiversity has arrived in the mainstream and the »Save the bees!« referendum is mobilizing 1.8 million voters in the state of Bavaria. At the same time, large parts of the population are propelled by unrestrained market forces, leading …

European Green Deal – no landing on the moon

The European Green Deal and the EU bioeconomy strategy avoid necessary system changes By Jana Otten and Peter Gerhardt At times of aggravating global crises, new answers are required. The international community is increasingly divided into rich and poor, environmental degradation – including the loss of biodiversity – is accelerating and the earth is heating up further. The so-called “European Green Deal” provides an answer to the climate crisis – at least as far as the pompous promise of the EU Commission can be trusted. However, does this European Green Deal really give us reason to heave a sigh of relief? Are the vociferous calls of the climate movement and climate science for a  reduction in emissions finally being translated into political concepts? And what role does the bioeconomy play, which envisions an ecological-social transformation of the economy, too? About nine months ago, on December 11, 2019, the European Green Deal was presented in big words in Brussels. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was bursting with superlatives and spoke of a historic moment …