A JRC study maps progress towards the five objectives of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy. It detects notable improvements in ensuring food and nutrition security, reducing dependence on non-renewable resources with substitution by bio-based sources, and strengthening European competitiveness and creating jobs.
However, the challenges in managing natural resources sustainably and mitigating and adapting to climate change persist.
EU bioeconomy, objectives and monitoring
The bioeconomy uses renewable biological resources from land and sea, like crops, forests, fish, animals and micro-organisms to produce food, materials and energy. A strong bioeconomy will help the EU accelerate progress towards a circular and low-carbon economy.
The results of the study are published in the report Trends in the EU bioeconomy – update 2024, prepared by the Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy (KCB), coordinated by the JRC. The report provides a consolidated overview of the most up-to-date information on the bioeconomy in the EU.
It describes progress made by the EU towards a sustainable bioeconomy and provides insights into the development of national and regional bioeconomy strategies in EU Member States. Its findings will inform the revision of the EU’s updated 2018 Bioeconomy Strategy, foreseen to be laid down by end 2025.
The report is based on data from the EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System (EU-BMS), which tracks the progress on the five key objectives of the 2018 update of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy described by the indicators in the EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System dashboards.
The five objectives are: 1. Ensuring food and nutrition security; 2. Managing natural resources sustainably; 3. Reducing dependence on non-renewable resources, 4. Mitigating and adapting to climate change; 5. Strengthening European competitiveness and creating jobs.
Environmental trade-offs and challenges
The analysis found that the supply and consumption of food is mostly stable, but that there is a clear trade-off between increasing production and the extra pressure this puts on the environment, such as intensified land use and decreasing species diversity. Improvements are also needed to reduce food waste, half of which comes from households.
Good progress has been made in the uptake of renewable energy. In 2022, the share of renewable energy reached 23% of total energy consumption, with large variations between EU countries. With nearly 60%, biomass makes up a large part of renewable energy consumption in the EU.
However, the report shows a clear negative trend in climate change mitigation, driven largely by the reduction in the land sink due mainly to natural and human disturbances in forests, such as increased harvests, insect outbreaks and wildfires.
Despite some encouraging signs related to nature conservation and the state of marine habitats, inland natural resources still face significant pressure. This both adversely impacts environmental quality and species diversity, and negatively affects the climate change mitigation potential of forests.
Competitiveness and national strategies
European competitiveness and economic development within the bioeconomy is seeing a positive trend, with steady growth in almost all bioeconomy sectors, whereas employment is showing a gradual decline. This decline reflects the shift of labour demand from primary production to less labour-intensive biomanufacturing sectors.
In agriculture, rising incomes, a growing share of organic farming, and a slight drop in livestock density are promising trends. However, these gains are offset by the spread of intensive farming practices, which have an adverse impact on water quality and reduce species diversity.
National bioeconomy strategies in EU Member States are diverse and reflect different national priorities and contexts. As of today, eleven Member States have dedicated national bioeconomy strategies, while in the other EU countries it is embedded in other related initiatives or under development. Detail at country level are accessible through the Bioeconomy Country Dashboard.
The way towards a sustainable, competitive and fair bioeconomy lies in enhanced coordination and cooperation among EU Member States to ensure a coherent EU bioeconomy policy framework. Several policy options to improve the sustainability of the bioeconomy are also brought forward in the report, including reducing consumption, fostering innovation, and improving biomass recovery.
Towards this aim, the report emphasises the need for further development of bioeconomy monitoring to include more comprehensive indicators in the EU-BMS for measuring climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as for assessing social and equity impacts.
Related links
Trends in the EU bioeconomy - update 2024
Updated Bioeconomy Strategy 2018
EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System
EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System dashboards
Details
- Publication date
- 4 December 2024
- Author
- Joint Research Centre
- JRC portfolios
