Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, signed a strategic partnership agreement with Bee’ah to develop the UAE’s waste-to-energy (WtE) sector. This partnership will help contribute to the UAE Government’s Vision 2021 which targets, among other goals, diverting waste from landfills by 75 per cent by 2021. Waste-to-energy is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the primary treatment of waste.
Economy
Mariagiovanna Vetere, NatureWorks: “It’s time to give clear support to biomaterials! The EU Plastic Strategy is a missed opportunity”
“With the Plastic Strategy the Commission presented an ambitious plan but it focuses only on mechanical recycling of conventional plastics and falls short in considering and evaluating the big benefits for the environment and for the ‘green’ jobs in Europe that bioplastics can provide”. Mariagiovanna Vetere, NatureWorks Public Affairs manager for Europe, talks to Il Bioeconomista.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Aquafil and Genomatica join forces to produce 100% sustainable nylon
Italy-based Aquafil and Californian biotech company Genomatica join forces to create sustainable caprolactam, a key ingredient to producing 100% sustainable nylon. The collaboration between the two companies aims to develop a commercially-advantageous bioprocess (Genomatica’s GENO CPL process) to make caprolactam using plant-based renewable ingredients, rather than the crude oil-derived materials traditionally used by the nylon industry.
World Bio Markets brings together in Amsterdam the bioeconomy global value chain
With governments committed to reducing emissions and consumers becoming more educated about where their products come from, there are opportunities for the bio-based sector to become a true contender to fossil oil. Yet long development times, lack of investment, and challenges in attaining a secure and sustainable supply chain have made it difficult for the bio-economy to achieve commercial success.
New York City announced first-in-the-nation goal to divest from fossil fuels
New York City announced first-in-the-nation goal to divest from fossil fuels. Mayor Bill de Blasio, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and other trustees of the City’s $189 Billion pension funds announced a goal to divest City funds from fossil fuel reserve owners within five years, which would make New York City the first major US pension plan to do so. In a first-in-the-nation step towards the goal of divestment, the Mayor and Comptroller will submit a joint resolution to pension fund trustees to begin analyzing ways to divest from fossil fuel owners in a responsible way that is fully consistent with fiduciary obligations. In total, the City’s five pension funds hold roughly $5 billion in the securities of over 190 fossil fuel companies. The City’s move is among the most significant divestment efforts in the world to date.
Biodegradable bags? Yes, thanks
In this early 2018 it seems the main problem for Italians is the price of biodegradable bags for fruit and vegetables. Many Italians complain about the cents to buy the biodegradable bags but say nothing about toxic clouds that devastate the territory from North to South. What are we talking about for the benefit of our non-Italian readers?
An interview with Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech: “We want to see a Carbon Smart Future take off”
“Our goal is to reduce carbon and to do this we must adopt new approaches by using alternative feedstocks, including existing wastes and residues instead of fossil. Today we have an abundance of carbon in all the wrong places. We can turn it from a liability to an opportunity by using it again and again”. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, on of the most dynamic and growing bioeconomy companies at world level, talks to Il Bioeconomista, in an interview released after the Bioeconomy Investment Summit, which was held on December 14 in Helsinki.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Eni signed an agreement to boost the collection of used vegetable oil
Italian oil giant Eni signed an agreement with Utilitalia (the federation of public owned energy, water and environmental companies) and CONOE (the Italian consortium for the collection and treatment of oil and used vegetable and animal and fat) to boost the collection of used vegetable oil produced in the homes of Eni’s employees. The collection will be made from Eni sites across the country, including operational headquarters and production plants.
NUI Galway and Gas Networks Ireland lead a new transport revolution
Picture Colm Mahady / Fennells – Copyright© Fennell Photography 2016.
The Irish bioeconomy takes a step forward: NUI (National University of Ireland) Galway and Gas Networks Ireland are leading a new transport revolution as they introduce compressed natural gas (CNG) and renewable gas for trucks, vans and buses. The project, named ‘Causeway’, marks a first for NUI Galway, as this is the first time that the University has been successful in securing a funding application from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility. The Causeway project received approval for €6.5 million co-funding from the European Commission.
An interview with Marc Palahí, director of EFI. “We must place the bioeconomy at the core of the EU Industrial, Climate and Sustainability Agenda”
“We need an ambitious and long-term bioeconomy policy framework to enable the creation of a Bioeconomy Single Market. The framework needs to ensure predictability to investors and companies, enhance risk-taking capacity and define priority pathways to move towards a low carbon economy, where a circular bioeconomy becomes a growth engine”. Marc Palahí, director of the European Forest Institute, talks to Il Bioeconomista. In this long and exclusive interview, released after the Second edition of the European Bioeconomy Summit, he talks about the next steps which are needed to place the bioeconomy at the core of the EU industrial, climate and sustainability agenda.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
IL BIOECONOMISTA 