Investment in the Bioeconomy Could Boost U.S. and Global Job Growth Significantly

Boosting investment in the production of ethanol from agricultural residues could be a win-win for the U.S. and global economy, energy security and the environment. But supportive government policies will be needed to help make it happen.

Millions of new jobs, more than $1 trillion in new business, and enough sustainably produced renewable fuel to displace half of global gasoline demand by 2030 are among the several projections made in a new study, "Moving Towards a Next-generation Ethanol Economy," released January 25 by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

According to the Executive Summary: 'The world has a unique opportunity to develop a next-generation bioproduct industry in the next two decades. There could be major benefits in terms of job creation, the economy, reduction of greenhouse gases and energy security. The regular supply of agricultural residue can underpin the development of this industry. It is a resource that can be sustainably harvested without altering current agricultural land use patterns. In supplementing food production, this resource theoretically can be turned into a variety of bioproducts from transport fuels to chemicals and plastics."

The report cites a number of current barriers that policymakers and stakeholders will need to overcome in order to bring about this new bioeconomy.

The question now is whether the United States will be in the game. Critical Farm Bill energy programs are at risk of being cut in the next Farm Bill. For more on this, see the next post.