Brazil has launched an initiative to lay the groundwork for a common framework on ‘bioeconomy’ as a part of its G20 Presidency, though political divisions threaten to hamper the process, an expert involved in the talks told Carbon Pulse.
The G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB), led by the four Brazilian ministries, is tasked with drafting high-level principles on bioeconomy to be an integral part of the Rio Declaration, set to be adopted by G20 countries at the end of the Brazilian Presidency in November.
Rather than drawing up a definition of bioeconomy, which is still widely debated even among the Brazilian ministries, the initiative seeks to engage with governments and the financial sector to boost investments in sustainable economic models that foster biodiversity conservation.
“Developing bioeconomy worldwide may represent a much-needed impulse to move the global economy towards sustainable development in its economic, social, and environmental dimensions,” the Brazilian government said in a document outlining GIB’s priorities.
“Bioeconomy encompasses a wide range of activities and sectors, such as agriculture, forestry, food, energy, timber, and biotechnology,” Marcelo Furtado, principal at non-profit NatureFinance, told Carbon Pulse.
“For example, sustainable agriculture can be combined with forest restoration in degraded lands so that the community can get food from these areas. At the same time, you can selectively extract cellulose from the trees you’re planting to produce [plastic replacement material] biopolymers. The whole process allows you to restore nature while also fighting inequality, and generating revenues and incomes.”
BRAZIL’S ‘BIGGEST FEAR’
NatureFinance is among the 18 organisations – spanning academia, private sector, and civil society – supporting the Brazilian-led initiative, which seek to build inputs to guide the discussion with G20 governments.
The support group includes the Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN), Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests and Agriculture, environmental non-profit The Nature Conservancy, and Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS).
“Bioeconomy can drive a fair development model generating products, processes, and services based on sustainable use, regeneration, and conservation of biological resources, especially biodiversity,” Juliana Lopes, nature and society director at CEBDS, told Carbon Pulse.
While seeking to help shape new policies and unlock investments, the initiative faces the “tough challenge” of overcoming divisions between countries, which may hinder its progress, Furtado said.
“Brazil’s biggest fear is that the geopolitical debate between North and South contaminates the conversation, holding back its potential,” said Vicente Araujo, diplomat of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The discussion on bioeconomy is a political one,” added Furtado. “Biodiversity-rich countries are normally poor, and rich countries are normally poor in biodiversity. These talks set a challenge for the international political and financial system.”
Furtado stressed that new financial instruments are needed to support bioeconomy, and critical topics such as benefit sharing and biodiversity monitoring must be addressed during the talks.
“We want to see a serious discussion on this. Financial institutions and economic regulators must step up and contribute to this conversation.”
BOOSTING THE AMAZON’S GDP
Last year, Banco di Brasil and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced a $250-million bioeconomy programme to finance renewable biological products in the Amazon.
The programme aims to support biodiversity-friendly businesses such as rural producers, according to the IDB, which participates in the GIB initiative.
“We must make sure the investments not only conserve biodiversity and promote a prosperous and fair market, but we must also create economic environments that allow the expansion of the forest,” Tatiana Schor, Amazon unit chief at IDB, told Carbon Pulse.
According to a study published by the WRI Brasil research institute, the bioeconomy currently generates $2.5 billion in GDP in the Brazilian Amazon.
Additional investments could boost the region’s annual GDP to $8 bln by 2050, and create over 800,000 jobs, replacing occupations now linked to deforestation, WRI estimated.
At a national level, bioeconomy has the potential to generate an additional industrial revenue of $284 bln per year by 2050, according to the Brazilian Biotechnology Innovation Association (ABBI).
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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