12 A. Klitkou et al.
regulations are often strongly connected to services that the counties and
municipalities are responsible for providing the citizens and might involve such
things as encouraging the citizens to sort their waste to facilitate biological
treatment and demanding that bus companies which provide public transportation services use biofuels. At a national level, the policies are more broad- based
and can affect entire sectors of the bioeconomy. Ministries are sometimes dedicated to the regulation of specific sectors, such as the Ministry of Trade,
Industry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Norway.
At the supranational level, there are policies that apply for multiple countries
and that each country has agreed to adhere to by signing a specific agreement
(e.g. the Paris Agreement) or joining a supranational organisation (e.g. the EU
or WTO). There might be different levels of compliance with supranational
regulations, since these regulations do not necessarily enjoy the same level of
popular support as national policies and the supranational organisation might
be unable to effectively enforce the regulations. In practice, many sectors of
the bioeconomy are at the same time subject to regulation at several levels.
The bioeconomy consists of actors with varying and often conflicting
agendas. Some actors own bio- resources and want to exploit these resources
commercially. Other actors possess strong technological capabilities and want
to introduce new bio- based products or processes. In addition, yet other
actors want to protect the environment and mitigate climate change. All these
actors want to influence policymaking to further their own agenda. Sometimes, it is possible for policymakers to find solutions that accommodate the
wishes of all these actors. Other times, it is impossible for policymakers to
find solutions that fit everyone, and they must choose which agenda they
want to support. In these cases, they often have to balance between sustainability and economic growth as central principles of the bioeconomy.
In this book, we will try to answer several important questions related to
policy and regulation. We want to look at what are the most important policies for improving the sustainability and economic viability of the bioeconomy, what are the main pitfalls that policymakers should be aware of when
they regulate the bioeconomy and what kinds of conflicting agendas policymakers face when they want to introduce new regulation.
1.3 An overview of the book
This book is organised into four parts, each exploring different aspects related
to the valorisation of organic waste, circularity and the bioeconomy.
Part I discusses the main concepts and approaches applied in the book.
Chapter 2 improves our understanding of the bioeconomy by exploring the
origins, uptake and use of the term “bioeconomy” in academic literature. It
reviews the literature and identifies three kinds of vision for the bioeconomy:
the bio- technology vision, the bio- resource vision and the bio- ecology
vision. Each of these visions has different origins, represents different sectors
and emphasises different underlying values, directions and drivers in the
regulations are often strongly connected to services that the counties and
municipalities are responsible for providing the citizens and might involve such
things as encouraging the citizens to sort their waste to facilitate biological
treatment and demanding that bus companies which provide public transportation services use biofuels. At a national level, the policies are more broad- based
and can affect entire sectors of the bioeconomy. Ministries are sometimes dedicated to the regulation of specific sectors, such as the Ministry of Trade,
Industry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Norway.
At the supranational level, there are policies that apply for multiple countries
and that each country has agreed to adhere to by signing a specific agreement
(e.g. the Paris Agreement) or joining a supranational organisation (e.g. the EU
or WTO). There might be different levels of compliance with supranational
regulations, since these regulations do not necessarily enjoy the same level of
popular support as national policies and the supranational organisation might
be unable to effectively enforce the regulations. In practice, many sectors of
the bioeconomy are at the same time subject to regulation at several levels.
The bioeconomy consists of actors with varying and often conflicting
agendas. Some actors own bio- resources and want to exploit these resources
commercially. Other actors possess strong technological capabilities and want
to introduce new bio- based products or processes. In addition, yet other
actors want to protect the environment and mitigate climate change. All these
actors want to influence policymaking to further their own agenda. Sometimes, it is possible for policymakers to find solutions that accommodate the
wishes of all these actors. Other times, it is impossible for policymakers to
find solutions that fit everyone, and they must choose which agenda they
want to support. In these cases, they often have to balance between sustainability and economic growth as central principles of the bioeconomy.
In this book, we will try to answer several important questions related to
policy and regulation. We want to look at what are the most important policies for improving the sustainability and economic viability of the bioeconomy, what are the main pitfalls that policymakers should be aware of when
they regulate the bioeconomy and what kinds of conflicting agendas policymakers face when they want to introduce new regulation.
1.3 An overview of the book
This book is organised into four parts, each exploring different aspects related
to the valorisation of organic waste, circularity and the bioeconomy.
Part I discusses the main concepts and approaches applied in the book.
Chapter 2 improves our understanding of the bioeconomy by exploring the
origins, uptake and use of the term “bioeconomy” in academic literature. It
reviews the literature and identifies three kinds of vision for the bioeconomy:
the bio- technology vision, the bio- resource vision and the bio- ecology
vision. Each of these visions has different origins, represents different sectors
and emphasises different underlying values, directions and drivers in the