Organisation Description - International Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Website: www.oecd.org/agr/env/indicators.htm
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International Activities - Other

Source:	Bio-economy
Source:	Workshop on Biomass from Agriculture

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The Bioeconomy to 2030: Designing a Policy Agenda

In 2005, the International Futures Programme (IFP) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will embark on an eighteen month project to design a bioeconomy policy agenda for governments. The bioeconomy is a new concept that encompasses many economic activities - each of which benefits from new discoveries and related products and services arising out of the biosciences. The OECD project team, along with partners in government, industry and academia, will assess how pervasive biotechnological applications are likely to become given our rapidly increasing biological knowledge. The project will also examine the prospects for further development over the next two to three decades, the potential impact on economies and societies, and most importantly, the policies needed to promote and exploit this new wave of innovations to promote high-level social and economic goals. A brochure providing further information is available as a PDF

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Workshop on Biomass from Agriculture

This OECD workshop was held in June 2003, in Vienna, Austria

The overall purpose of the workshop was to analyse the socio-economic and environmental impacts of producing agricultural products to be used as a source of industrial raw material and or fuels. It provided an opportunity for the Member countries to share experiences on biomass and to analyse the market approaches and policies used to encourage biomass production. The workshop contributed to the work of the OECD Joint Working Party on Agriculture and Environment (JWP) agri-environmental policy issues, with focus on the economic, social and environmental aspects, in particular with regard to:

• Renewable energy production (i.e. biofuels/bioenergy)
• Renewable raw material production (i.e. plastics and other raw materials)
• Role of all agricultural products in biomass production, including agro-forestry (but not forestry per se)

The workshop, held in a splendid palacial building, was attended by some 100 people including government representatives from the Member Countries, from the European Commission and from a number of both international Governmental Organisations (such as the European Environment Agency) and NGOs (including, Belgium Biomass Association, Birdlife International, the European Biomass Association, International Federation of Agricultural Producers, International Network for Sustainable Energy, Irish Bioenergy Association and the Worldwide Fund for Nature. BioMatNet was also represented and contributed to a joint paper with the European Commision covering aspects of the non-food RTD activities that have been supported by previous and current Framework Programmes.

This paper was entitled

RENEWABLE BIOMATERIALS AND EU RESEARCH POLICY, by Ciaran Mangan, CEC DG Research, and Jim Coombs, BioMatNet

Download the Paper (76 Kb PDF)

Following a period of discussion and editorial revision the resulting documents and presentations should be available through a link on the OECD website from October 2003.

BioMatNet is greatful to Rainer JANSSEN of WIP, Munich for the following photo, one of a number taken at the meeting.