Bioeconomy: a solution to the challenges of a post-fossil future?

Dennis Eversberg, Jana Holz and Matthias Schmelzer

Chapter 19 in Handbook on Alternative Global Development, 2023, pp 334-351 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: "Bioeconomy" is one of the buzzwords that come up time and again in debates on the future of modern societies in the face of climate disaster. The core vision of its proponents is that decarbonization of the economy can be achieved by replacing the linear throughput of fossil resources with ’circular’ flows of biological and renewable resources. The article argues that bioeconomy strategies in their dominant form, as promoted by governments, industry, and international organization, can best be characterized as a problematic or false solution that cannot ultimately address real problems of societal fossil-fuel dependency and its social-ecological repercussions. To substantiate this, the article discusses the origins and history of the bioeconomy debate and presents key insights of various strands of social scientific research on the bioeconomy and their respective contributions to a critical understanding of its implications and impacts.

Keywords: Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Politics and Public Policy Sociology and Social Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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