On July 16, 2021, the G20 OECD workshop on Bioeconomy in the G20 and OECD countries was held in the Chigiana Library of Palazzo Chigi (Presidency of Council of Ministers, Rome).
The subject of the meeting was the sharing and comparison of the national strategies for the Bioeconomy currently available in the G20 and OECD countries in order to identify and co-design the best governance and monitoring indicators of the sustainable and homogeneous growth of this meta-sector in the various continents.
More than forty states around the world currently pursue specific political strategies to expand and strengthen their Bioeconomies. Among them, there are 9 European Member States and many OECD and G20 countries such as, among others, Norway, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States. Other G20 OECD countries are working on developing national strategies dedicated to the Bioeconomy.
However, the strategies available are often remarkably different in terms of sectors involved, governance and policy, as they respond to specific priorities of each country. In addition, they often lack adequate indicators to monitor progress in achieving the planned goals.
Hence the reasons behind this initiative: the identification of shared and more effective governance and monitoring tools would greatly contribute to increasing a sustainable Bioeconomy globally.
Today's workshop initiated this process, highlighting the contribution of over 25 Speakers, institutional representatives from 12 G20 and OECD countries with a national strategy for the Bioeconomy together with institutional representatives from the European Commission (Dr. Peter Wehrheim and Dr. Giovanni De Santi) and FAO (Dr. Maurizio Martina).
The workshop saw the participation of the Italian Government Ministers Professor Roberto Cingolani and Professor Maria Cristina Messa, who opened the day's work, followed by the contribution of Dr. Antonio Bernardini, Ambassador of Italy to the OECD and Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of International Cooperation, and that of Dr. Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary General, OECD. The Minister Hon. Giancarlo Giorgetti held the conclusions of the workshop, bringing his position on the future of sustainable Bioeconomy at national and international level.
The event was organized by the "National Coordination Board for Bioeconomy", chaired by Prof. Fabio Fava, of the National Committee for Biosafety, Biotechnology and Life Sciences of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers chaired by Prof. Andrea Lenzi.