The Politics of Bioeconomy and Sustainability - Lessons from Biofuel Governance, Policies and Production Strategies in the Emerging World

This book addresses the underexposed political dimensions of bioeconomy promotion. Who wins and who loses? How are institutions being shaped, and by whom? Drawing from experiences since the earlier days of biofuels promotion, it explores in unprecedented detail the global drive away from fossil fuels and towards a biomass-based economy.
Multipurpose agriculture gains ever more traction as countries create new bio-based value chains - or, rather, value webs. Governance, in this regard, proves to be key for steering developments towards inclusive agri-food-biomass systems instead of fueling just a handful of 'flex crops' ridden with social equity and other environmental issues.
Based on a rich global-level analysis of bioeconomy promotion and three in-depth case studies of key emerging economies (Brazil, India and Indonesia), the book also innovatively examines sustainability politics in Global South democracies.
Ultimately, this book is about finding the politics for a fairer bioeconomy in the years and decades to come.


Mairon G. Bastos Lima started working on bioeconomy governance in 2008. He has since obtained a PhD in environmental studies from the VU University Amsterdam (2014) and published extensively on various themes of environmental politics, particularly in relation to agriculture, social sustainability, and the Global South. Working in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, he has collaborated on different occasions with the UN Development Programme, the UN Research Institute for Social Development, among others.