Amid geopolitical instability, disputes over strategic resources and escalating global environmental challenges, it is imperative to adopt models that align economic development and resilience with the goal of achieving climate neutrality. While the generation and use of renewable energy is an established and competitive strategy to replace fossil fuels in transportation, households and industries, there are sectors where electrification is not feasible due to the essential role of carbon as a feedstock or process element. Examples include the metallurgical industry, where carbon is used as a reducing agent, and the chemical industry, which relies on hydrocarbons as the foundation for countless products, such as polymers.

The use of renewable carbon derived from sustainably produced biomass – biogenic carbon – is key to the environmentally and economically efficient transformation of these industries towards climate neutrality. Unlike conventional bioenergy use, biogenic carbon as an industrial feedstock is cost effective, maximises emission reductions and enables negative emissions – essential for achieving true climate neutrality. The production and sourcing of renewable carbon as an industrial feedstock is thus a necessary complement to the expansion and use of renewable energy, forming an essential component of the transition to true climate neutrality.

Opportunities and global alignment

For countries with possibilities of producing biogenic carbon at scale, its adoption as a renewable alternative to fossil feedstocks presents an opportunity to build new value chains. Such value chains may benefit landscape protection and restoration, enhance economic and environmental value in agriculture and forestry and generate jobs and income for rural communities. For consumers and importing countries, transitioning from concentrated and exhaustible fossil resources to decentralised, renewable sources enhances strategic autonomy and fosters nature-positive and holistic value chains.

Biogenic carbon-based industries thus align the interests of developing countries – seeking sustainable and inclusive economic growth – with those of industrialised nations aiming to source sustainably produced products with minimal or even negative greenhouse gas footprints. This alignment paves the way for a more diversified, resilient and nature-positive global economy.

Policy needs for consolidating biogenic carbon pathways

However, consolidating this model requires a coordinated diplomatic effort that integrates trade and environmental policies. Bilateral and multilateral cooperation is fundamental in creating a harmonised regulatory environment that mobilises investments and facilitates the transfer and deployment of innovative biogenic-carbon-based technologies. A well-coordinated regulatory framework must support investments, promote trade integration and enhance clean technology transfer, ensuring mutual benefits for all stakeholders.

Integrating biomaterial-based industries and products into international trade can enhance energy security, diversify supply chains and accelerate the path to climate neutrality.

By fostering the integration of bio-based industrial pathways, countries can reduce vulnerabilities associated with input concentration, promote the diversification of production chains and simultaneously improve quality of life for their populations. This approach represents a new paradigm for economic growth – one that merges industrial modernisation with environmental preservation and decisively contributes to building a more balanced, resilient and climate-neutral global economy.

Recommendation for the G20

 Building on previous G20 initiatives to advance sustainable bioeconomy and low-carbon industrial pathways, the G20 should promote a coordinated agenda to accelerate the adoption of biogenic carbon as a renewable industrial feedstock. Priority actions include harmonising sustainability regulations, facilitating investment and clean technology transfer and strengthening international cooperation to integrate biogenic-carbon-based value chains into global markets.