Dear Readers,

thank you so much. 2019 was a great year for Il Bioeconomista. The blog confirms itself as one of the world’s leading bioeconomy blog. And the number of readers increased by 29%.

2019 was also an important year for the bioeconomy but many things still need to be done to fully achieve a more sustainable society and economy, starting with the implementation of effective policies against climate change. From this point of view, the COP25 in Madrid cannot leave us optimistic. 2020 will be a turning point. We start from the positive assumptions that exist in the European Green New Deal.

However, such a huge vision and ambition cannot be achieved without looking at the essence of the economic model we have created, that is without fundamentally rethinking the way in which we produce and consume. A system change is needed to dematerialize our economic model and update the logic of resource efficiency to that of resource sufficiency, based on the decoupling of economic growth, or better well-being, from the use of resources and environmental impacts. The quantity-oriented and profit-oriented economy should be replaced by an economy focused on satisfying people’s needs in a sustainable way. This is not an easy task and it certainly is a process that challenges the current balance and distribution of power and interests. But it is necessary, if we take the set ambitions seriously. The bioeconomy, a circular economy based on renewable biological resources and sustainable biological solutions, can contribute to the realization of the Green Deal. It can be a catalyst for systemic change to holistically address those social, economic and environmental aspects that are not yet managed consistently today.

In the new year we will certainly always be active to support the sustainable and circular bioeconomy. Thanks for joining us.

We wish all of you a wonderful, healthy,

Happy new year!

Some pictures from 2019:

Paper Bottle with PEF prototype (Source: Avantium)

John Bell in Helsinki