Bioeconomy RTI (Research, Technology, Innovation) Strategy for Austria. RTI Working Group 2 - Climate Change and Scarcity of Resources. Support the transition to a CO2-neutral future.

This comprehensive Strategy, developed in dialogue with relevant stakeholders and actors, universities and research centres, considers Research, Technology, Development and Innovation as the pillars of a successful and productive bioeconomy approach, in order to strengthen Austrian value creation and achieve economic prosperity, by providing the economy with resource-efficient and sustainable use of biogenic raw materials as valid alternatives to fossil raw materials. The Strategy is structured as follows: 1) The future field of bioeconomy, including: definition of bioeconomy in the context of the Strategy; importance of bioeconomy for the economy and the society; business and research sectors of bioeconomy in Austria. 2) Vision 2050 strategy - Austria, a dynamic RTI competence-location for bioeconomy. 3) Strategic goals. 4) Research fields of bioeconomy, including: resources of bioeconomy; raw material production from primary production; raw material processing; conversion; products and services; consumption and lifestyle; reuse and recycling; governance; sustainability assessment and management. 5) Relevant RTI-instruments for implementing the Strategy. 6) Strategy process and outlook.
Bioeconomy, with a resource-efficient and sustainable use of biogenic raw materials, makes an important contribution to overcome urgent challenges as climate change, global environmental pollution and general scarcity of resources that are all closely linked to the use of non-renewable fossil raw materials. Focusing on Austria’s role as bioeconomy location, RTI location and competence-oriented business location, the Vision 2050 represents the basis for defining the following concrete goals: strengthening interdisciplinary basic research, in order to advance the marketability of innovative products; supporting comprehensive education orientation, in order to enable scientific foundations for resource-efficient value-added cycles and usage cascades of biogenic raw materials; developing an economic system, based on decarbonisation, greenhouse gas balance and circular economy, that takes into account the scarcity of resources and of land, the sustainable use of soil and water, the sustainable use of nutrients.
The system created by Bioeconomy involves several areas of knowledge and business in combining economic prosperity and ecological compatibility and therefore identifies nine topic areas, with related goals: 1) Protection of limited natural resources, including: protection of biological diversity (animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms, etc.) in all habitats (soil, forest, water) and preservation of natural soil and forest functions from degradation and loss; balanced use of the different functions of the soil and of the forests. 2) Ensuring the provision of biogenic raw materials, including: animal production, fishing, beekeeping and aquaculture for algae; protection and preservation of soil area, water bodies and forests; integration of previously used cultivated and wild plants and improvement of ecological plant protection. 3) Raw material processing, including: increasing resource efficiency and minimising losses and interface between raw materials and industrial processing. 4) Resource-efficient processing of biogenic resources. 5) Circular Production design, including: internationally coordinated system for the overall ecological assessment of products (life cycle assessment). 6) Consumption and lifestyle, including: framework conditions for sustainability-oriented lifestyles through the application of the polluter pays and precautionary principles. 7) Resource efficiency, including: re-use and recycling; comprehensive circular economy. 8) Governance and bioeconomy. 9) Sustainability access and management, including: promoting the implementation of sustainable development goals through international cooperation and network.