Biosolutions: A clear path to fighting climate change

The document advocates for the use of biotechnology to address climate change, health, and sustainability challenges, highlighting specific applications in agriculture, construction, and carbon capture. It argues that current regulatory frameworks, particularly in the EU, delay the market entry of sustainable products and calls for fast-track approval processes and collaboration between governments and industry to accelerate the green transformation.

• Biotechnology offers several potential applications to mitigate climate change, including replacing harmful crop protection chemicals with biological alternatives, converting atmospheric CO2 into raw materials to reduce fossil fuel reliance, and replacing animal proteins with alternative proteins to lower land use and climate impact.
• The adoption of transformative biosolutions is slowed by lengthy approval processes, which diminish the incentive to develop sustainable products. A comparison shows that biobased solutions for sustainable crop cultivation take about seven years for approval in the EU, compared to approximately two years in the US.
• Current industry efforts to implement biosolutions include the development of bio-cement using microorganisms as an alternative to traditional cement, the use of fermented proteins and microorganisms in food systems, and the replacement of chemical insecticides and fossil-based pesticides with microorganisms and naturally occurring peptides.
• Specific institutional contributions to the green transformation include the Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center, which is the first international interdisciplinary center for CO2 capture and recycling, and Novozymes, whose technologies in the transport sector avoid nearly 50 million tons of CO2.

APA

Baiget, M. K. T. K. K. E. (2022). Biosolutions: A clear path to fighting climate change. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/biosolutions-clear-path-to-fight-climate-change/

Chicago

Baiget, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Kasim Kutay, Ester. Biosolutions: A clear path to fighting climate change. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/biosolutions-clear-path-to-fight-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Baiget |first1=Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Kasim Kutay, Ester |title=Biosolutions: A clear path to fighting climate change |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=23 May 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/biosolutions-clear-path-to-fight-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{baiget2022biosolutions, author = {Baiget, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Kasim Kutay, Ester}, title = {{Biosolutions: A clear path to fighting climate change}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/biosolutions-clear-path-to-fight-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }