Viewpoint: European Commission must prioritize agricultural biotechnology or ‘the 2050 zero carbon emissions target will remain a mirage’

Credit: European Commission
Credit: European Commission

“Without further investments and simplification of procedures, the zero emissions target will remain a mirage. To achieve this, the European Commission must further incentivize the bioeconomy and not let investors flee.” Saying this are not critics or detractors, but the projections of an EU project, which has modeled several possible scenarios between now and 2050.

“The bioeconomy can make a substantial contribution to achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions and will be a key sector to do so,” says Justus Wesseler, coordinator of the European Biomonitor project. “However, further investments are needed, more than those currently indicated by the Green Deal. Otherwise it will not be enough.”

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Procedural lengths and complexities… run the risk of costing businesses dearly, discouraging investors and thus curbing the bioeconomy. There are therefore two inevitable steps to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

“In the first place it is necessary to increase the amount of investments,” says Wesseler. “Secondly, the current regulatory policy must be changed to make these new technologies ready for use sooner than they are today. This will cost the European Commission nothing. All that is needed is political will.”

[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Italian and has been translated and edited for clarity.]

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here

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