Central EU-level documents concerning the bioeconomy were reviewed, focusing on carbon and climate issues. The bioeconomy is connected to most UN Sustainable Development Goals, and tied to several EU policy sectors and priorities, incl. climate and energy, biodiversity, circular economy, agriculture, forestry, industrial policy, regional policy, and research and innovation. Their interlinkages with the bioeconomy have not been taken sufficiently into account in current EU policy.

Work is needed on building the coherence and addressing sustainability. A wider group of actors is needed to fulfil the potential of the bioeconomy, including consumers, cities, regions, the educational and research sectors, service providers, and small-scale biomass producers, as the bioeconomy is not only about large-scale industry. Circular economy and the bioeconomy need to be developed in tandem. Standards, sustainability criteria and other types of regulation will increasingly be needed. The situation is also constantly evolving, as new issues and topics emerge. New sectors, e.g., construction, should also be included, as well as services and ecosystem services.

The bioeconomy can offer solutions to the carbon issue in three ways. First, the biomass-producing sectors can upkeep and increase carbon sinks. Post-2020 CAP and climate-smart forestry may emphasise this function. Second, bio-based products having a long lifetime, such as wooden buildings, may constitute carbon sinks. The cascade principle, waste prevention and sector specific regulations are relevant. Third, bio-based products may substitute non-renewable products, e.g., in chemical industry, packaging, and energy. Public procurement, product standards and sectoral policies may be harnessed to increase their markets. It must be ensured that the bio-based products have (significantly) lower GHG emissions over their life-cycle. It is also vital that the use of bio-based products implements substitution rather than additional production and consumption.

There are tradeoffs between the ways in which the bioeconomy can contribute to the climate challenge. Competing uses for biomass as well as the competition between sinks and harvests are inbuilt risks in the bioeconomy. The focus in the bioeconomy discussion is on production, economic growth and employment. Critical views about consumption and material growth are largely absent. All currently used fossil and other non-renewable resources cannot be replaced with biomass. Circularity, waste prevention and energy efficiency should be emphasised, and discussion on sustainable lifestyles should be more prominent