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The Bioeconomy to 2030 - Designing a Policy Agenda
The report is the outcome of an interdisciplinary foresight project by the OECD on the bioeconomy.
It provides a broad-based analysis of future developments in the three sectors where biotechnology has the greatest potential impact: agriculture, health and industry. It also explores
the implications of developments in these sectors for the economy and society over the next two decades and develops a policy agenda.
Over the past two decades, biotechnology has provided a motor for environmentally sustainable production and for the development of a diverse range of innovative products. The continued commercial application of biotechnology could lead
to the development of a bioeconomy, where a substantial share of economic output is partly dependent on the development and use of biological materials. The potential economic and environmental benefits of biotechnology have created a growing strategic interest in the bioeconomy in both OECD
and non-OECD countries. But for the bioeconomy to succeed, considerable uncertainties and global challenges will need to be addressed. Innovative policy frameworks, strategic thinking by both governments and firms, and citizen support will be required to meet these challenges.
The bioeconomy project was carried out by an OECD Secretariat team in the International Futures Programme (IFP). The IFP, which reports directly to the OECD Secretary-General, was created in 1990 to examine long term futures. Past work has covered, among other themes, long-term prospects for the world economy, the future of international air transport, emerging risk in the 21st century, and infrastructure investment needs in the 21st century.
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