TY - JOUR
T1 - To facilitate a fair bioeconomy transition, stronger regional-level linkages are needed
AU - Andersen, Mikael S.
AU - Christensen, Lotte D.
AU - Donner-Amnell, Jakob
AU - Eikeland, Per O.
AU - Hedeler, Barbara
AU - Hildingsson, Roger
AU - Johansson, Bengt
AU - Khan, Jamil
AU - Kronsell, Annica
AU - Inderberg, Tor H.J.
AU - Ørsted Nielsen, Helle
AU - Pizzol, Massimo
AU - Sairinen, Rauno
AU - Skjærseth, Jon B.
AU - Söderholm, Patrik
AU - Teräväinen, Tuula
AU - Thomsen, Marianne
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support (grant no. 82841) from Nordforsk, Nordic Energy and Nordic Innovation to the project NOWAGG (New Nordic Ways to Green Growth; https://projects.au.dk/nowagg/ ) is acknowledged. Constructive comments from four anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged. Any remaining errors, though, reside solely with the authors.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022/7/1
Y1 - 2022/7/1
N2 - The great hopes in Brussels that a circular bioeconomy will help bridge the growing divide between urban and rural areas and allow the hinterlands to prosper from ‘green growth’ are addressed in this article, which reflects on insights from three Nordic case studies of brown, green and blue biomass use at different levels of technology readiness. A closer examination of the forward, backward, fiscal and final demand linkages at regional level from increased biomass utilization, from eastern Finland and northern Sweden to Jutland and North Atlantic islands, suggests that linkages are and will remain relatively weak, predominantly dashing the expectations. As suppliers and exporters of natural resources, disadvantaged regions may all too easily get locked into a ‘staples trap’, where the value creation evaporates owing in part to the steep start-up costs and the associated boom-and-bust cycles, which place them in a weak position vis-à-vis the resource manufacturers and consumers. To make the prospects of development, employment and prosperity in the hinterlands materialize, measures are needed to strengthen the regional-level economic linkages. Regional-level revolving funds based on benefit-sharing instruments related to natural resources can be used to bolster economic development, as reflected in such schemes present in both China and Canada. We call for further research into whether and how such approaches can be replicated successfully by channeling revenues from biomass cultivation to regional-scale revolving funds, with mandates to strengthen long-term economic linkages and prosperity within the hinterlands.
AB - The great hopes in Brussels that a circular bioeconomy will help bridge the growing divide between urban and rural areas and allow the hinterlands to prosper from ‘green growth’ are addressed in this article, which reflects on insights from three Nordic case studies of brown, green and blue biomass use at different levels of technology readiness. A closer examination of the forward, backward, fiscal and final demand linkages at regional level from increased biomass utilization, from eastern Finland and northern Sweden to Jutland and North Atlantic islands, suggests that linkages are and will remain relatively weak, predominantly dashing the expectations. As suppliers and exporters of natural resources, disadvantaged regions may all too easily get locked into a ‘staples trap’, where the value creation evaporates owing in part to the steep start-up costs and the associated boom-and-bust cycles, which place them in a weak position vis-à-vis the resource manufacturers and consumers. To make the prospects of development, employment and prosperity in the hinterlands materialize, measures are needed to strengthen the regional-level economic linkages. Regional-level revolving funds based on benefit-sharing instruments related to natural resources can be used to bolster economic development, as reflected in such schemes present in both China and Canada. We call for further research into whether and how such approaches can be replicated successfully by channeling revenues from biomass cultivation to regional-scale revolving funds, with mandates to strengthen long-term economic linkages and prosperity within the hinterlands.
KW - biomass
KW - disadvantaged regions
KW - green growth
KW - Hartwick's rule
KW - natural resources
KW - staples trap
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85129073156&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/bbb.2363
DO - 10.1002/bbb.2363
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85129073156
SN - 1932-104X
VL - 16
SP - 929
EP - 941
JO - Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining
JF - Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining
IS - 4
ER -