UE Biobased Policy: A Critical Economic-Geographical Point of View

Abstract

We propose a brief analysis of the “Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe” by the European Commission. With this aim, we have used a multiscalar and inductive methodology, a critical, paradigmatic and deconstructionist approach. Special attention is given to the language because it influences the individual’s perceptions and the collective imagination that is the base of ideas, decisions and actions. The main results concern the conceptual and ideological matrix, the population-resource relation and the participation process. We argue that the technocentric and anthropocentric approaches as well as the neoliberal vision are all the same in regards to both the old “fossil” economy and the most recent bioenergy sector’s development. The latter could offer important lessons to avoid errors, contradictions and paradoxes. In addition, the asymmetry regarding the distribution of biomass and advanced level of techno-knowledge could lead to new forms of ecological exploitation, economic domination and power relations on the different levels of spatial scale. This could put in to question the territorial sovereignty. Finally, the EU bioeconomy model cannot be considered an economic revolution because it is focused on the supply side in support of market demand and economic growth, without taking into account the production model and scale. So, it simply appears as one of many steps of the “industrial revolution”: from fossil sources to biobased ones. For this reason, it is very important to make the choice process a democratic one, bringing in the Member State Parliaments on the discussion on the UE biobased policy, as well as opening a broad public debate about the prospects and effects of this choice. In regard to this, the paper could be of interest because it aspires to assume and motivate a more systemic prospective in evaluations and policy decisions.