Brazilian government launches bioeconomy development plan to drive green transition of industry

The Brazilian government has announced the launch of the National Bioeconomy Development Plan (PNDBio) – a large-scale initiative designed to help the country transition to more environmentally friendly industrial production, reports the government’s website.

"The bioeconomy we are building today, together with President Lula da Silva and all our partners, is for everyone: raw material producers, indigenous peoples, and representatives of the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors. This is an economy that paves the way for a new cycle of prosperity, but this is only possible thanks to sovereignty, as it is precisely this that allows us to transform biodiversity into fair, inclusive and sustainable development," said Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva.

The plan was developed under the coordination of the National Bioeconomy Commission with the participation of 16 ministries, civil society and business representatives, and includes several missions.

Within the "competitive bio-industrialisation" priority area, one of the missions is entitled "Health and Well-being", which aims to develop the production of biomaterials and the manufacture of domestic products. The second mission in this area involves processing agricultural waste to create high-value-added bio-products. Another mission involves the gradual phasing out of fossil raw materials and their replacement with renewable energy sources in the chemical and fuel industries.

The initiative is expected to directly benefit more than 5,000 families, provide support to at least 60 cooperatives, and facilitate projects in the fields of science, technology, and innovation involving around 60 scientific and technical institutions, at least 32 of which are located in the Amazon region.