Page 15 - Biorefinery 2030 Future Prospects for the Bioeconomy (2015)

xiv Executive Summary

Areas for Future Action (General Conclusion)

For industrial bioeconomy to fulfil its potential, with 400 biorefineries opening in
the United States, in Europe and on other continents, many favourable conditions
and circumstances will have to come together, and this is possible but far from
certain.
We indicate here three areas of action to promote these conditions:

• The development of research into the economic sector itself: its definition,
indicators and databases (the prerequisite for “knowing thyself”) without
which neither discussion nor analyses are possible (what, precisely, is the
industrial bioeconomy?)
• The active involvement of the private sector through public/private partnerships,
shared technology platforms, research into critical mass, the integration of
upstream and downstream structures, active discussions with society at large;
however, all this requires much more vigorous public policies.
• Governments acting as intermediaries between the stakeholders. They need to
remain neutral concerning choices of technologies, but provide a stable regu-
latory framework, and above all a level playing field in terms of competition
with existing technologies and sectors. In other words, they need to compensate
the industrial bioeconomy for the benefits (disregarded externalities) and mas-
sive direct and indirect subsidies (tax relief, favourable tax regimes) awarded to
established sectors.

Reims Cedex, France Pierre-Alain Schieb
Honorine Lescieux-Katir
Maryline The ´not
Barbara Cle ´ment-Larosie `re