Financing a Sustainable Global Bioeconomy

The global bioeconomy, currently valued at US$4-5 trillion with potential growth to US$30 trillion by 2050, is presented as a critical complement to clean tech for achieving a just transition. The document identifies significant financing barriers, including perverse fossil fuel subsidies and limited risk capital in the Global South, while proposing a suite of sustainable finance instruments—such as nature credits and sustainability-linked financing—to bridge these gaps. It advocates for an integrated approach combining national strategies with international cooperation, specifically through the G20, to establish common principles, measurement standards, and trade rules that protect biodiversity and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

• The global bioeconomy is currently estimated to be worth US$4-5 trillion and has the potential to reach US$30 trillion by 2050, driven by regulatory developments and concerns regarding health, environment, and climate.
• Financing for the bioeconomy is hindered by several factors: private investors are deterred by limited scale and restricted commercial rights over traditional knowledge; nature-intensive enterprises face unfavorable markets due to perverse environmental and fossil fuel subsidies; and high-tech early-stage businesses in the Global South lack sufficient risk capital.
• Existing sustainable finance instruments can be used to de-risk and lower the cost of capital for the bioeconomy, including nature credits (carbon and biodiversity credits), sustainability-linked financing in sovereign and corporate debt markets, and blended public-private instruments via development finance institutions.
• To scale the bioeconomy, the report recommends seven critical priorities: establishing high-level principles, creating common measurement standards based on natural capital accounting, developing industrial strategies that secure land tenure for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, utilizing diverse financing instruments, increasing the price of nature, reforming trade rules to remove distorting subsidies, and overcoming data shortfalls.
• The G20 is identified as the primary platform for international coordination, with Brazil initiating efforts that should be continued by future presidencies in South Africa (2025) and the US (2026), alongside coordination with the UNFCCC and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2024). Financing a Sustainable Global Bioeconomy. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/financing-a-sustainable-global-bioeconomy/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Financing a Sustainable Global Bioeconomy. 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/financing-a-sustainable-global-bioeconomy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Financing a Sustainable Global Bioeconomy |date=12 September 2024 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/financing-a-sustainable-global-bioeconomy/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2024financing, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Financing a Sustainable Global Bioeconomy}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/financing-a-sustainable-global-bioeconomy/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }