The COP29 closing statement of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. COP29 comes at the close of a brutal year – a year seared by record temperatures, and scarred by climate disaster, all as emissions continue to rise. Finance has been priority number one. Developing countries swamped by debt, pummelled by disasters, and left behind in the renewables revolution, are in desperate need of funds.
REMARKS AT THE COP29 HIGH-LEVEL EVENT ON DELIVERING EARLY WARNINGS FOR ALL AND ADDRESSING EXTREME HEAT
Excellencies, friends,
Welcome.
It is a pleasure to join you today – in the home stretch of a brutal year.
2024 has shown climate calamity is now commonplace.
This is on track to be the hottest year in the history books.
It has scorched countries and communities with temperatures that push the limits of human endurance.
And around the world, we’ve seen record rains and hurricanes, historic fires, and deadly droughts.
The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11-22, 2024. It aims to accelerate global climate action amid escalating environmental challenges. The conference will focus on securing the significant financial investments needed to reduce emissions and protect vulnerable populations, while also urging nations to update their climate action plans to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.
This is a great news for the European and the world bioeconomy. Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymers, last Tuesday celebrated the Official Opening Ceremony of its FDCA Flagship Plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The plant opening was officiated by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, in the presence of international and Dutch dignitaries, partners and Avantium employees.
The Global Bioeconomy Summit will be held in Africa this year. In Nairobi from 23 to 24 October the world bioeconomy stakeholders will gather to put once again the bioeconomy at the heart of the ecological transition. The Global Bioeconomy Summit (GBS) is a prestigious international event that brings together bioeconomy leaders from around the world, reflecting the interdisciplinary and diverse nature of the field. For the first time, GBS will be hosted outside Europe. Launched in 2015, GBS was designed to be a global, inclusive summit, uniting experts from all corners of the world to showcase the bioeconomy’s diverse and interdisciplinary features.
The ReBioCycle project kickoff took place at the University College Dublin on 2-3 October 2024. European Bioplastics and its members, including TotalEnergies Corbion, AIMPLAS, Novamont, Corbion, Sulapac, and Kaneka are amongst the 20 partners that have joined forces for developing and implementing “A new European blueprint for circular bioplastics upcycling solutions”, under the lead of the University College Dublin and BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre.
Climate change, population growth, soil degradation, biodiversity loss. These are the main challenges that humanity is called to face. The circular bioeconomy is one of the keys to tackling them and overcoming them, reconciling the economy with society and the environment. To make policy makers and public opinion aware about what exactly is the circular bioeconomy there is now a book written by Mario Bonaccorso and published in Italian by Edizioni Ambiente and in English by the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation.
Everything is ready in Bologna to host the new edition of IFIB, the International Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy. The Italian city will be the capital of circular bioeconomy from 3 to 4 October, when world bioeconomy stakeholders will gather at the Golinelli Foundation to discuss and partner.
Jukka Kantola is the founder and CEO of World Bioeconomy Forum and also the Chair of the World Bioeconomy Association. He talks with Il Bioeconomista before the next G20 which will be held in Brazil, where the circular bioeconomy will be one of the main topics. “This G20 Summit – he says – marks a pivotal moment”
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Stuttgart, Germany, is the first city in Europe to launch its own bioeconomy strategy. Il Bioeconomista has interviewed Dr. Max Schuchardt, who developed the bioeconomy strategy of the City of Stuttgart, and Dr. Elisabeth Saken-Braunstein, who is leading the bioeconomy team at the Ministry of Environement, Climate and Energy and the strategic development of the urban and industrial bioeconomy strategy section in the Amendment of the bioeconomy strategy of Baden-Württemberg.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
IL BIOECONOMISTA 