Enabling bio-based materials policy

In recent years, the absence of policy support for bio-based chemicals and materials production in the face of huge support for both biofuels and bioenergy has been a matter of contention. This lopsided emphasis has serious consequences for integrated biorefineries of the future. It systematically allocates (subsidised) biomass to fuels and energy applications as a result, opportunities for high value-added and greater job creation could be missed. If lessons from petro-fining are any indication, lack of support for bio-based chemicals and materials production may completely throw the economics of integrated biorefinery operation into doubt. This chapter examines policy options that will start to address the situation from economic, environmental and social perspectives. It aims to help governments implement policy support for bio-based materials that can be consistent with that for national biofuels. This would be a cost-efficient mechanism that uses existing support policies and conditions rather than creating a separate support scheme with its own infrastructure and bureaucracy.