Finding innovative and sustainable solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss while maintaining paths to prosperity is an urgent concern for countries worldwide. Bioeconomy is an emerging policy paradigm that aims to address this challenge. This chapter discusses the concept and definitions of bioeconomy, its recent use in government policies and strategies, including a summary of the Brazilian national bioeconomy policy and the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy launched under the Brazilian G20 Presidency in 2024.
Production Transformation Policy Review
Spotlight on Bioeconomy for Sustainable Development in the Amazon Region (Brazil)
Abstract
Designing innovative and sustainable solutions to address global warming and biodiversity losses together with economic prosperity is an urgent agenda for all. Several countries are exploring new approaches to ensure economic activities are carried out while taking into account their social and environmental implications. The search for sustainability is relevant on a global scale, but it is even more urgent for unique ecosystems such as the Amazon forest, home to more than 20% of the tropical forest area in the world and representing 39% of the Brazilian territory [authors’ elaboration based on Mapbiomas (2024[1]) and FAO (2022[2])].
Bioeconomy is emerging as a new policy concept framing public and private investments to ensure environmental sustainability and inclusion of local communities in business activities. This chapter presents an overview of the concept of bioeconomy and its use in policymaking. It presents an overview of the bioeconomy policy approach in Brazil and describes the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy launched under the Brazilian G20 Presidency in 2024 and continued under the South Africa G20 Presidency in 2025.
The term bioeconomy started to emerge in the public policy debate in the 1970s as an approach that acknowledged the finite nature of natural resources, and the need to align economic processes with ecological limits, therefore advocating for sustainable production, renewable energies and environmental preservation (Vivien et al., 2019[3]; Georgescu-Roegen, 1971[4]).
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, while the economic policy debate was dominated by what has been called the “Washington Consensus” (Williamson, 1990[5]), the term bioeconomy branched into two main streams. The first, influenced by ecological economics, retained a systems-based view, emphasising the need to ensure the compatibility of economic activity with natural cycles and ecological resilience. The second was influenced by the emerging technological field of biotechnology, and within this stream bioeconomy began to be used to identify the commercialisation of biotechnology-led innovation in areas such as genetic engineering, industrial biotechnology, and bioprocessing. This biotech-based use of the term bioeconomy was developed mostly in the United States and Europe, where biotech research was ramping up.
Even though the term bioeconomy has increased in popularity from the 2000s onwards, when it gained prominence in public policy, it lacks comparable metrics on its relevance in national and global economies and its development impact (Table 1.1). The OECD released a pioneer work in 2009 defining bioeconomy as “the set of economic activities in which biotechnology contributes centrally to primary production and industry, especially where the advanced life sciences are applied to the conversion of biomass into materials, chemicals, and fuels” therefore highlighting the relevance of technology (OECD, 2009[6]). Since then, OECD’s current work on bioeconomy recognises that there is a need to update and expand the definition, but no consensus has been reached yet. Examples of activities linked to bioeconomy are presented in Box 1.1.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Government of Brazil (2024[9]), OECD (2009[6]), European Commission (2018[7]), IAGB (2020[8]), Government of South Africa (2013[10]) and Rodríguez, Rodrigues and Sotomayor (2019[11]).
In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has developed bioeconomy satellite accounts for 13 countries in the region. Based on the International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC) and the Central Product Classification, bioeconomy activities include those linked to the production and use of biological resources (e.g. the agricultural industry) and those products that cannot be a priori classified as such but might contain biological resources, also known as “extended bioeconomy” (e.g. furniture, textiles and chemicals) (Vargas, Mondaini and Rodríguez, 2023[12]).
Examples of bioeconomy activities frequently included in existing policy programmes include:
Biorefining, i.e., industrial facilities that transform biomass into items like bio-based chemicals (such as bioplastics and biofertilisers), biofuels (like ethanol and biodiesel), renewable energy, and bio-based materials (such as composites and fibres). Some of these processes, like making ethanol from sugarcane, are already well established. However, research continues on producing new bio-based products, such as those utilising alternative feedstocks like algae or those increasing the efficiency of existing ones.
Biopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, i.e., products like dietary supplements, and cell therapies made from biological rather than synthetic sources.
Synthetic biology, which is enabling the design of entirely new biological systems using DNA and other organic molecules; lab-grown meat is one example of this emerging field.
The harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) (e.g. the collection of food items such as nuts, berries, and mushrooms or non-foods, such as medicinal plants).
Provision of ecosystem services, including monetising the conservation and preservation of forests (e.g. though carbon credits).
Sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, including organic farming or low-carbon agriculture, and the use of precision and other methods for increased resource activities.
Regenerative agriculture practices, such as crop rotation and erosion control practices, able to maintain or improve productivity while enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Vargas, Mondaini and Rodríguez (2023[12]), OECD (2019[13]), Government of Brazil (2024[9]), OECD (2009[6]), European Commission (2018[7]), IAGB (2020[8]), Government of South Africa (2013[10]) and Embrapa (2024[14]).
The European Union (EU) released the first EU Bioeconomy Strategy in 2012 (European Commission, 2012[15]; European Commission, 2018[7]), defining it as “the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, bio-based products, and bioenergy”, with a strong focus on circularity and climate change mitigation. The United States released a bioeconomy strategy in the same year (Government of the United States, 2012[16]) with an emphasis on biotechnology, innovation and commercialisation, particularly in health, agriculture, and energy sectors. In the 2010s, several EU member states released their own bioeconomy policies (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden).
In Africa, South Africa, Namibia and the East African Community have bioeconomy policies in place. South Africa released the “Bio-economy Strategy” in 2013, which remains in force today, with a focus on implementing biotech solutions for economic development, food security and healthcare resilience (Government of South Africa, 2013[10]). The strategy called for increased public resources into bioeconomy R&D and skills development, together with a strong role for the public sector in leading co-ordination of public and private stakeholders for research and manufacturing. Finally, the strategy also saw a role for complementing scientific knowledge with the use of traditional knowledge, as well as the use of conservation ecosystems to foster industrial development.
In LAC, the first bioeconomy policies were released by Costa Rica and Colombia in 2020, followed by Brazil in 2024 and Uruguay in the same year and they all follow the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its ecosystems approach (Table 1.2). In the region, bioeconomy policies emphasise the need to diversify the economy and make sustainable use of biodiversity, respecting community development and social inclusion (Rodríguez, Rodrigues and Sotomayor, 2019[11]). In LAC, the bioeconomy discourse is interlinked with the territorial and local development agenda. For example, in Brazil, the State of Pará has a local bioeconomy strategy (State of Pará, 2023[17]), while Colombia’s “Mission on bioeconomy and territory”, launched in 2023 in line with the country’s national development plan 2022-26, specifies different priorities and lines of actions for each region and stresses the need to ensure participatory governance at the territorial level (Government of Colombia, 2023[18]). In Asia, bioeconomy strategies gained ground particularly in the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”), India, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.
Note: 1) Brazil’s National Bioeconomy Commission includes 14 agencies, including Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Social development, Regional development, Energy, Health, and others. In South Africa, the government has also approved, in 2024, a “Biodiversity Economy Strategy”, co-ordinated by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, which complements the bioeconomy strategy. It considers those activities with biodiversity as their core business or that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, including bioprospecting, ecotourism and wildlife farming; 2) CBIOs: decarbonisation credits; SMEs: Small and medium enterprises. CIT: Corporate Income Tax.
*Policy tools are often not explicitly announced in the national strategies but are identified from related action plans and policies or are linked to implementation programmes.
Source: Authors’ elaboration.
The dualism at the origins of the bioeconomy concept persists nowadays in the different policy approaches (Table 1.2). Differences lie in using the term with an emphasis on policies focusing on ensuring the respect of the ecological limits (e.g. focusing on circularity and the use of natural resources) or on policies focusing on biotechnology and technological development. An emerging and comprehensive focus is the one on sustainability, which emphasises policies that ensure that economic activities are pursued considering ecological limits through innovation, science, technology and participation of local communities (Box 1.2). This more comprehensive approach is the one adopted by Brazil and South Africa (for a more detailed overview of Brazil’s National bioeconomy strategy, see the next section).
Despite differences, all bioeconomy policies share:
the recognition of biological resources as a strategic foundation for sustainable development;
the need for multi-stakeholder co-ordination, within governments and with local communities, as well as across countries; and
the role of science and innovation as key enablers.
The bioeconomy approach fosters synergies between the three Rio Conventions: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The CBD is particularly important when discussing the role of ecosystem services in bioeconomy policies. The CBD was launched on 29 December 1993, with three objectives: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity; and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.
At its second meeting, in Jakarta in 1995, the Convention adopted the ecosystem approach as a framework for action. This approach guides strategies for the management and sustainable use of land, water, and biological resources while promoting conservation and equitable sharing of benefits. It considers scientific knowledge, nature as well as humans and their cultural diversity.
The CBD ecosystem approach builds on twelve principles that can be grouped as follows:
Promoting sustainable use and ecosystem services (Principles 4, 5, 6, 10)
Economic incentives can promote biodiversity sustainable use. These principles state that relative prices can benefit those that undertake conservation or restoration activities.
Inclusive governance and co-operation (Principles 1, 2, 11, 12)
Governance matters for a society-oriented and inclusive ecosystems management. These principles advocate for including local communities and various societal sectors in decision-making processes to ensure that decisions are aligned with local needs and values.
Understanding ecosystem limits and dynamics (Principles 3, 7, 8, 9)
These principles recognise that ecosystems should be managed with a long-term and dynamic perspective. An adaptive management based on science and local knowledge is needed to capture ecosystem changes and track negative and positive impacts within and between ecosystems overtime.
In 2022, the CBD adopted the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”, with a concrete pathway for urgent action to 2030 and 2050. Among the agreed targets and goals there are commitments to restore degraded ecosystems, enhance biodiversity and sustainability in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry, strengthen biosafety and distribute the benefits of biotechnology more equally, among others.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2007[19]), and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2022[20]), Convention on Biological Diversity, https://www.cbd.int/.
In 2024, Brazil launched a national strategy for bioeconomy while hosting the G20 Presidency (G20 Brazil, 2024[21]; Government of Brazil, 2024[9]). This strategy proposes actions and priorities to unleash the potential of different sectors, including biofuels, agriculture and biotechnology, based on the country’s socio-biodiversity across the whole national territory, including the Amazon region. Bioeconomy aims to be a development model based on justice, ethics, and inclusion. Similar to the approaches implemented in Colombia, Costa Rica, and South Africa, the bioeconomy is used to identify production development opportunities that ensure inequality reduction and local development, also valorising traditional knowledge and the respect for indigenous and traditional communities.
In Brazil, the National Bioeconomy Strategy is a multi-ministerial initiative led by the Ministry of Finance (MF), the Ministry for Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) and the Ministry for Environment and Climate Change (MMA). The strategy is articulated with three other programmes:
The Ecological Transformation Plan led by the MF, which provides a portfolio of bankable sustainable projects, policies, and micro-reforms able to drive a sustainable and inclusive growth and development for Brazil. One of its six policy axes is bioeconomy.
The industrial policy “New Industry Brazil” led by MDIC and the national development bank, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), which compiles a series of mission-oriented incentives to promote R&D, investment, and exports in the Brazilian industry. It relies on six missions, including “Bioeconomy, decarbonisation, and energy transition and security”.
The BioRegio, led by the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (MIDR), which is part of the Brazilian Regional Development policy and proposes multi-sectorial investments (including environmental conservation, training, sustainable infrastructure and valorising traditional knowledge) to promote local development through bioeconomy activities. It starts with initiatives in three pilot territories and adds up to the existing programme “Regional Integration Routes”, which aims at developing 11 value chains in more than 800 municipalities, 9 of them with potential spillovers to bioeconomy activities.
Existing bioeconomy initiatives in Brazil involve at least 14 ministries and agencies at the federal level as well as states and municipalities (Figure 1.1), due to the existence of multiple initiatives focusing on biomass-based industries and conservation in the Amazon since the 1970s.
Bioeconomy Policy Initiatives and Federal Investment Plans in Brazil (2024)
Note: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA); Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA); BioRegio (National Strategy of Regional Development and Bioeconomy).
Source: Authors' elaboration based on official sources from the government of Brazil and Lopes and Chiavari (2022[22]).
The Brazilian approach to policies for bioeconomy is:
Place-based. Brazil has emphasised leveraging its unique local biological resources and cultural heritage, making it a priority to implement bioeconomy strategies with local communities. For example, the State of Pará released its own bioeconomy plan in 2022. Pará, located in the Amazon Region, accounts for 4% of Brazil’s population but 35% of its emissions in 2022. The plan is articulated in three pillars: i) research and development (R&D) and innovation; ii) cultural and genetic heritage and traditional knowledge; and iii) sustainable business and value chains. The plan aims to diversify Pará’s economy in a way compatible with its socio-biodiversity, strengthening the capacity of local communities to innovate and create businesses, in areas including açaí, and other agricultural crops such as cocoa and casava, and nutraceuticals, tourism, and fashion. Another state in the Amazon Region in Brazil, the State of Amazonas, has also recently advanced on its own bioeconomy strategy. In March 2025, it approved the “State Strategy for Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development”, establishing the legal basis for the development of the State of Amazonas Bioeconomy Plan, which was released in November 2025 during the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) in the city of Belém (State of Amazonas, 2025[23]; State of Amazonas, 2025[24]).
Focused on closing infrastructure gaps. The 2023 National Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) aims at investing up to USD 340 billion for social and economic infrastructure projects. Among the more than 20 000 planned interventions, 26% of the projects are in the Amazon region in Brazil: 60% aiming at implementing education and culture infrastructure, 22% health infrastructure, and 9% water and sanitation (Casa Civil, 2024[25]). These interventions can benefit bioeconomy-driven territorial development initiatives improving local conditions for production. Moreover, large infrastructure projects for energy transition and logistics in the Amazon region are also planned, including new waterways implementation summing up USD 820 million in investments.
Oriented towards cross-border co-operation. Brazil is supporting regional initiatives to improve data, monitoring, and peer learning in bioeconomy. One of these is the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO), a multi-governmental organisation formed to promote the development of the Amazonian territories, which is investing in an observatory for biodiversity and promoting policy dialogue (Box 1.3). It co-exists with other regional initiatives, such as the Bioeconomy Network for Latin America, launched in 2023 with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) as its secretariat, which brings together over 70 institutions (including international organisations, ministries and government agencies and academia) from 12 countries in the region (Red Latinoamericana de Bioeconomía, 2025[26]). The network undertakes co-ordination and capacity building activities to support the development of bioeconomy-related strategies, metrics and policy tools.
Brazil is also leading the implementation of the “Tropical Forest Forever Facility” presented at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) and launched in November 2025 at COP30 in Belém, with the endorsement of 53 countries (COP30 Brazil, 2025[27]). This fund targets to mobilise USD 125 billion to finance forest conservation initiatives in tropical countries and a total of over USD 5.5 billion in pledged funding has already been announced, including a first capitalisation of USD 1 billion from Brazil (Government of Brazil, 2024[9]). In 2023, the “Green Coalition” was also created to co-ordinate actions across 20 development banks in the region, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), BNDES, and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) which are also building programme-driven international partnerships to fund bioeconomy projects. Additionally, in 2024, Brazil and France established a bilateral bioeconomy partnership for the Amazon and other ecosystems, which includes initiatives for joint research, knowledge sharing and financial support (Box 1.4).
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1995 as a result of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) being signed in 1978 by eight Amazonian countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela), to promote harmonious sustainable development of the Amazonian territories through joint actions with equitable and mutually beneficial results.
ACTO's initiatives for sustainable development, introduced at the 2023 Belém Presidential Summit, include:
The Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO), an Information Reference Centre for the study and development of the Amazon region. Within the ARO, a platform for micro, small, and medium enterprises to showcase products from the Amazon region, such as Pirarucu and Açaí, is being built.
The Amazon Basin Project, a partnership between ACTO, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with a focus on water resource management in the Amazon.
The Bioamazon Project, funded by the German Development Bank (KfW), to improve the monitoring and conservation of Amazonian flora and fauna and decrease threats by trade.
ACTO Biomaz Project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which designs regional frameworks for biodiversity conservation in line with international agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Paris Agreement.
The Monitoring Project of Forest Cover in the Amazon, supported by various international partners and technical agencies like Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), aims to generate data on deforestation and forest use, contributing to national forest monitoring plans across ACTO Member Countries.
Source: Edith Paredes, Administrative Director, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, Addressing economy for sustainable development in the Amazon Region, presentation at the Peer Learning Group (PLG) Meeting “Bioeconomy for Sustainable Development in the Amazon Region”, Azores, 2 July 2024.
In March 2024, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Emmanuel Macron of France agreed upon a bilateral and multilateral framework on climate action to protect the Amazon and other biomes. The “Brazil-France call for climate ambition from Paris to Belém and beyond” (or the Belem Appeal) aims at promoting investments in economic activities in line with biodiversity protection and with the interests of indigenous people. An Action Plan was also established for tropical forests protection and bioeconomy promotion in which France and Brazil committed to raising public and private investment of EUR 1 billion in bioeconomy projects for the Amazon in Brazil and French Guiana over the next four years. The Brazil-France partnership has multiple facets:
Promoting continuous dialogue between the two governments on bioeconomy challenges with the establishment of technical and financial partnerships.
Brazilian public banks will collaborate with the French Development Agency in joint projects and initiatives for the Amazon.
Appointment of representatives from the most innovative bioeconomy firms from Brazil and France as special co-ordinators of the initiative.
A new scientific partnership between the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) to promote sustainable industry research.
The creation of a bioeconomy hub to drive research, investment, and technology sharing through the establishment of co-operation between French and Brazilian universities. This initiative will also strengthen the existing French-Brazilian Centre for Amazonian Biodiversity.
2024 or latest available year, in USD million and as % GDP
Note: Budgets are obtained from the national government annual budgets for India and Brazil and from the national public budget of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for Colombia and South Africa, consolidating existing bioeconomy programmes and specific investments on bioactivities with a keyword “bio” or “bioeconomy”. Figures do not include state or other local-level budgets. To measure the share of the budget over GDP, data are obtained from the World Bank. For Colombia, India and Brazil, GDP for 2024. For South Africa, 2022.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Government of Brazil (2024[30]), Government of India (2024[31]), Government of Colombia (2024[32]) and Government of South Africa (2024[33]).
Brazil’s public budget for bioeconomy is larger than in other developing economies, such as South Africa and Colombia, and similar to India. Brazil’s federal government invested roughly USD 514 million in 2024 (Figure 1.2). In terms of effort as a percentage of GDP, contributions are still relatively small. Brazil’s budget for bioeconomy is around 0.02% of GDP, only slightly larger than the effort undertaken by the central government of India. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the scope of bioeconomy plans differs between countries: in South Africa and India, policies tend to emphasise innovation and biotechnology while, in Colombia and Brazil, investments also cover bioindustries, agriculture and ecosystem services. Furthermore, Brazil, like other countries, also uses additional non-budget instruments to finance bioeconomy activities (Chiavari et al., 2024[34]).
The G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB) was launched under the G20 Brazilian Presidency in 2024. It defines bioeconomy as an innovative productive paradigm.
The GIB acknowledges that there is no agreed international definition of bioeconomy also because “what bioeconomy is” is strictly linked to the specific local characteristics of each territorial and community ecosystem (G20 Brazil, 2024[21]).
The G20, in the GIB, describes bioeconomy as a new economic system that focuses on sustainably using renewable biological resources to create products, services, information, and energy and that meets the needs of societies, respecting the limits of ecosystems, providing ecosystem services and creating decent jobs with sustained income.
The GIB highlights that bioeconomy comprises activities where economic value is generated by a sustainable use of natural resources, accounting for its social and environmental impact through a combination of science, traditional knowledge and technology. It encompasses economic activities in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, biotechnology, and bio-based manufacturing; it aims at reducing reliance on fossil fuels, minimising environmental impact, and promoting sustainable and regenerative practices, respecting people and fostering shared value creation.
The G20 has endorsed the Bioeconomy principles (Box 1.5), which were derived from extensive dialogue with G20 members and invited countries, including Colombia, and a cross-ministerial debate within Brazil, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and composed of 12 ministries and the BNDES. The publication of these principles is a result of G20 discussions in the following bioeconomy-related axes: (i) R&D and innovation, and traditional knowledge for bioeconomy; (ii) sustainable use of biodiversity for bioeconomy; and (iii) bioeconomy as an enabler for sustainable development.
Recognising the remarkable potential of bioeconomy to contribute to building a sustainable future and fostering economic growth for all, the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB) has initiated the international debate on this innovative, complementary productive paradigm. Its members have decided on ten voluntary, non-binding High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy, according to which bioeconomy activities are expected to:
1. Integrate and promote sustainable development across economic, social and environmental dimensions, contribute to eradicating hunger and poverty and improving health and well-being, whilst ensuring global food security and nutrition.
2. Be inclusive and equitable, uphold the rights of all persons, including Indigenous people and members of local communities, promote gender equality and the participation of all stakeholders.
3. Advance mitigation and adaptation efforts against global climate change, in line with applicable multilateral climate agreements.*
4. Contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, subject to national laws and in line with applicable international agreements and instruments.*
5. Advance sustainable consumption and production patterns and the efficient and circular use of biological resources, whilst promoting the restoration and regeneration of degraded areas and ecosystems.
6. Be developed through safe, secure and responsible use of science, technology, innovation and traditional knowledge, with potential benefits, risks and impacts assessed scientifically.
7. Benefit from robust and coherent policy frameworks that foster trade for bioeconomy products and services, market conditions, sustainable business models, decent jobs, local value creation and private sector and civil society participation.
8. Utilise transparent, comparable, measurable, inclusive, science-based and context-specific criteria and methodologies to assess their sustainability throughout the value chains.
9. Be fostered by international collaboration and co-operation that addresses global challenges, leverages complementary strengths, innovation and entrepreneurship and promotes financing, capacity building and sharing of best practices.
10. Be based on country-specific approaches and implemented in line with national priorities and regional and local circumstances.
*The applicable multilateral climate agreements referred to in Principle 3 include, but are not limited to, the Paris Agreement. The applicable international agreements and instruments referred to in Principle 4 include, but are not limited to, the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
Source: (G20 Brazil, 2024[35]).
The G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy has been continued under the South African G20 Presidency in 2025. The GIB is taking place under the umbrella of the G20 Research and Innovation Working Group (RIWG), led by the South African Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (G20, 2025[36]). In line with the South African G20 Presidency’s thematic on “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability” and building on the work of the Brazilian Presidency, the 2025 GIB South African Presidency aims to strengthen efforts towards the G20 High-level Principle on Bioeconomy number 9 on international collaboration and co-operation. The GIB is now structuring the deliberations in four main priority axes (also linked to the principles number 1, 6, 7, 8 and 10):
establishing global bioeconomy metrics and standards;
examining the common needs, opportunities and challenges of bioeconomy development support in an African context;
financing bioeconomy; and
framing a platform for delivering on bioeconomy developments in Africa.
The 2025 GIB Presidency also recognised the potential and provided input to the planned Bioeconomy Finance Hub for Africa, a largely private-sector-driven initiative that will commence operations in 2026, and has invited member countries to help shape its agenda and scope. The hub is proposed and co-founded by the Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa (a development agency based in Kenya and funded by the United Kingdom, which works on deepening the financial sector), the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) (a multi-stakeholder platform for advocacy on nature-related financing framework set up by FSD Africa), and NatureFinance (a think tank). It aims to be a platform that will address barriers that are limiting financial flows, such as data and measurement challenges, financial market constraints (including risk and cost perceptions), as well as other capacity limitations. In addition, the 2025 GIB Presidency encouraged the dissemination of tools to track the implementation of bioeconomy strategies, including indicators and monitoring frameworks developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO, 2025[37]).
In addition to the G20, multilateral discussions on bioeconomy are also advancing in the framework of the United Nations with a view to further encouraging global dialogue and actions. In July 2025, the United Nations ministerial declaration of the 2025 session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the high-level political forum on sustainable development mentioned “sustainable bioeconomy” as an approach to support the shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns, together with that of the circular economy (United Nations, 2025[38]).
The COP30 hosted by Brazil in Belém in November 2025 also represented an occasion to bring the global debate on bioeconomy forward. During the conference, Brazil launched the Bioeconomy Challenge, an international platform to translate the G20 High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy into concrete action and scalable solutions by 2028 (Bioeconomy Challenge, 2026[39]). It is co-ordinated by Brazil’s MMA and the COP30 Presidency and involves other governments, international organisations, companies, academia, civil society and experts, engaged to propose solutions in four working groups: metrics and indicators; financing mechanisms; market development and trade; and sociobioeconomy and community benefits.
The term bioeconomy started to emerge in the public policy debate in the 1970s as an approach that acknowledged the finite nature of natural resources, and the need to align economic processes with ecological limits, therefore advocating for sustainable production, renewable energies and environmental preservation. In the 2010s, several countries, starting with the EU, the United States and South Africa, started to use the concept to shape policies, regulations and incentives to foster economic development and steer it towards sustainability and inclusiveness. Brazil released its first national bioeconomy policy in 2024, a multi-ministerial initiative led by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry for Development, Industry, Trade and Services and the Ministry for Environment and Climate Change. Brazil’s approach has put the spotlight on bioeconomy as a driver of not only economic development, but also of environmental conservation and inclusion. Under the Brazilian G20 Presidency in 2024, the G20 decided on ten High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy to ensure a multilateral and international support to bioeconomy initiatives. The G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB) has continued under the South Africa G20 Presidency.
The GIB acknowledges that there is no agreed international definition of bioeconomy also because “what bioeconomy is” is strictly linked to the specific local characteristics of each territorial and community ecosystem. Despite the absence of a unique definition and considering the differences in policy approaches to bioeconomy, all policies on bioeconomy share:
the recognition of biological resources as a strategic foundation for sustainable development;
the need for multi-stakeholder co-ordination, within governments and with local communities, as well as across countries; and
the role of science and innovation as key enablers.
Chapter 2 of this report discusses why bioeconomy can be a game changer for the Amazon, with a focus on the Amazon region in Brazil, and Chapter 3 zooms into the role of innovation to foster sustainable development in the Amazon, focusing on how to innovate through partnerships and ensuring equitable benefit sharing.
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