The biobased economy – addressing the challenge of biomass demand
By Dr Adrian Higson, Managing Director, NNFCC
A chemicals and materials industry based on fossil inputs extracted from the geosphere is inherently unsustainable and can never achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore a transition to alternative raw materials is required.
However this transition cannot be based on simply switching one type of raw material for another. The approach to transition must be wider and based on a re-engineering of the way the economy and society approaches manufacturing and the consumption of products.
To be successful the biobased economy must overcome two critical challenges: cost and acceptance. The latter being the key to overcoming the former. The legitimacy of a biobased economy has been widely questioned by both NGOs and the academic community, although criticisms have been largely targeted at biofuel production, these concerns do apply to biobased products.
Questions over biodiversity impacts, social concerns around food security and even questions on the potential for greenhouse gas emission reductions, serve to reduce the acceptance of biobased products as a positive change for good.
This position has resulted in the discrepancy seen between positive policy statements, recognising the need to reduce fossil inputs in material production, and the inertia in the actual practical implementation of policy.
Therefore, unlocking the full potential of the biobased economy rests on achieving a consensus between stakeholders on what a transition could look like and how it should be managed.
Used in conjunction, five steps can lead to a sustainable biobased product economy.
Reduce consumption – use less, waste less.
Reduce virgin raw material demand – go circular.
Reduce competing biomass demand – use biomass effectively in hard or impossible to decarbonise applications.
Reduce land demand – target the use of agricultural and crop residues.
Use biomass efficiently – support restorative biomass supply and biorefinery processing.
The transition away from fossil fuels will take several decades and will continue beyond 2050. The transition will require careful management; existing bioenergy industries provide infrastructure, knowledge, and the platform to develop the technology, processes, and the products of the future. Additionally we must not lose sight of the important role that bioenergy currently plays in decarbonising transport and in the treatment of waste.
It is our contention that this paralysis seen in biobased product policy can be overcome, but more attention needs to be focussed on understanding the position and scale of the biobased economy within the larger and broader transition to a more sustainable economy.
A broader vision is required in the debate around biomass availability, land use and feedstock demand. Changes in consumption patterns, the move away from fast fashion or towards vegetarian diets, alongside the push to increase the circularity of the economy with increasing recycling rates, can dramatically change the perspective on biomass demand and therefore supply. In turn, this creates a vision of the future and gives a new context for the potential and realisation of biobased economy opportunities.
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