The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) said the European Commission’s recent communication, “Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU,” could pave the way for an EU Biotechnology Act under the next European Commission mandate, said Chemweek.
This potential act should, however, address concerns around raw material availability and include all industries using these technologies, Cefic said.
“Cefic welcomes the communication’s acknowledgement of biotechnology and biomanufacturing’s potential to enhance Europe’s competitive edge and innovation landscape. The introduction of regulatory sandboxes represents a significant move towards a more adaptable and supportive regulatory framework, which is vital for the progression of biotech innovations,” it said.
The communication, however, overlooks a significant challenge about the availability of large quantities of feedstocks, like biomass for industrial use, which are crucial as primary raw materials for biotech-based processes, Cefic said.
In addition, the issue of higher raw material costs in Europe compared to other regions, such as Brazil or the US, poses a competitive disadvantage, and there is a crucial need to restore Europe’s competitiveness as outlined in the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal, Cefic said.
Targeted market measures and compensation schemes to alleviate the cost pressures on European biotech firms are required to make them more competitive globally, Cefic said. These measures should encourage the use of European biomass, reducing our industry’s dependence on imports, it added.
“EU policies dealing with the bioeconomy must implement the ‘cascading use’ principle to ensure that biomass is used where it makes the most environmental, economic and social sense for circularity, value creation and jobs,” Cefic said.
Meanwhile, equally important is the need to extend support to a broad spectrum of organizations employing biotechnology, including startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and multinational corporations, according to Cefic. “This reflects the technology’s widespread application and potential for innovation across the European economy,” it said.
We remind, circular plastics now account for 13.5% of the content in new plastic products manufactured in Europe, according to industry association Plastics Europe (Brussels). The association today published its biennial “The Circular Economy for Plastics: A European Analysis” report, which noted that the figure means the European plastics sector is more than halfway toward the interim ambition of Plastics Europe’s Plastics Transition roadmap to use 25% of plastics from circular sources in new products by 2030.
mrchub.com