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Pathways to a forest-based bioeconomy in 2060 within policy targets on climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection

Authors :
Anne Toppinen
Markku Ollikainen
Minna Autio
Eliisa Kylkilahti
Anni Tuppura
Tiia-Lotta Pekkanen
Arttu Malkamäki
Satu Pätäri
Jenni Miettinen
Lassi Linnanen
Jukka Luhas
Mirja Mikkilä
Jaana Korhonen
Katja Lähtinen
Department of Economics and Management
Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS)
Forest Bioeconomy, Business and Sustainability
Consumer Studies Research Group
Environmental and Resource Economics
Academic Disciplines of the Faculty of Social Sciences
Forest Economics, Business and Society
Department of Forest Sciences
Department of Education
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

While climate change and biodiversity loss have exposed humanity to major systemic risks, policymakers in more than 40 countries have proposed the transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy as a solution to curb the risks. In the boreal region, forests have a prominent role in contributing to bioeconomy development; however, forest-based bioeconomy transition pathways towards sustainability and the required actions have not yet been identified. Participatory backcasting was employed in this study to 'negotiate' such pathways among Finnish stakeholders by 2060 in three forest-based value networks: forest biorefineries, fibre-based packaging and wooden multistorey construction. There are many alternative pathways, ranging from incremental to more radical, to a forest-based bioeconomy within a framework of ambitious climate and biodiversity targets. Path dependence can support incremental development on bioeconomy transition pathways, and this should be considered when planning transition towards sustainability. Orchestration of the more radical changes requires actions from legislators, raw material producers, consumers and researchers, because the possibilities for business development vary between different companies and value networks. The envisioned actions between the pathways in and across the networks, such as forest diversification and diverse wood utilisation, can offer cobenefits in climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection.

Details

Language :
English
Database :
OpenAIRE
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....936e18f6709dd0f23635e79fed042318