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Regional Employment Impacts of Biorefineries in the EU

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  • Benz Xinqi Zhu
  • Maria Vrachioli
  • Johannes Sauer

Abstract

The European Commission aims to achieve a climate‐neutral economy by 2050 and positively affect the employment growth rate while reducing fossil‐based production activities. For that reason, according to the European Green Deal, decarbonisation and modernisation of fossil‐based industries is essential. Thus, replacing fossil fuel‐based inputs in these industries with bio‐based inputs through the establishment of biorefineries can contribute towards this goal. This article reports the results of a study on the impact of biorefineries on the regional employment rate, and other regional socio‐economic indicators. A unique regional level dataset provided by EU Joint Research Centre and the EU H2020 BioMonitor project is used to examine the impact of the biorefinery industry on local employment. This dataset covers multiple European Member States and enables us to account for regional characteristics over a 10‐year period (2009–2018). Our results show that introducing biorefineries to a region can be associated with a higher regional employment growth compared to regions with no biorefineries. Improving biorefinery data availability and quality can assist further the research in this area and promote the development of bioeconomy in Europe. La Commission européenne vise à parvenir à une économie neutre pour le climat d'ici 2050 et à influencer positivement le taux de croissance de l'emploi tout en réduisant les activités de production basées sur les énergies fossiles. C'est pourquoi, selon le Pacte vert européen, la décarbonation et la modernisation des industries basées sur les énergies fossiles sont essentielles. Ainsi, le remplacement des intrants d'origine fossile dans ces industries par des intrants d'origine biologique grâce à la création de bioraffineries peut contribuer à cet objectif. Cet article rapporte les résultats d'une étude sur l'impact des bioraffineries sur le taux d'emploi régional et d'autres indicateurs socio‐économiques régionaux. Un ensemble de données unique au niveau régional fourni par le Centre commun de recherche de l'Union européenne et le projet BioMonitor du programme européen H2020 est utilisé pour examiner l'impact de l'industrie de la bioraffinerie sur l'emploi local. Cet ensemble de données couvre plusieurs États membres européens et nous permet de prendre en compte les caractéristiques régionales sur une décennie (2009‐2018). Nos résultats montrent que l'installation de bioraffineries dans une région peut être associée à une croissance de l'emploi régional plus élevée que dans les régions sans bioraffineries. L'amélioration de la disponibilité et de la qualité des données sur les bioraffineries peut contribuer à faire progresser la recherche dans ce domaine et promouvoir le développement de la bioéconomie en Europe. Die Europäische Kommission hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, bis 2050 eine klimaneutrale Wirtschaft zu erreichen und das Beschäftigungswachstum zu fördern, während gleichzeitig die auf fossilen Brennstoffen basierenden Produktionsaktivitäten reduziert werden. Gemäß dem europäischen Green Deal ist aus diesem Grund die Dekarbonisierung und Modernisierung fossil basierter Industrien unerlässlich. Dementsprechend können fossile Rohstoffe in diesen Industrien durch biobasierte Rohstoffe ersetzt werden. Zur Erreichung dieses Ziels kann die Errichtung von Bioraffinerien beitragen. Der vorliegende Artikel zeigt die Auswirkungen von Bioraffinerien auf die regionale Beschäftigungsquote und andere regionale sozioökonomische Indikatoren auf. Basierend auf einem umfangreichen Datensatz, der von der Gemeinsamen Forschungsstelle der EU und dem EU‐H2020‐Projekt BioMonitor bereitgestellt wurde, werden die Effekte von Bioraffinerien auf die lokale Beschäftigung untersucht. Der Datensatz deckt mehrere europäische Mitgliedstaaten ab und ermöglicht es uns, regionale Merkmale über einen Zeitraum von 10 Jahren (2009‐2018) zu berücksichtigen. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Einführung von Bioraffinerien in einer Region im Vergleich zu Regionen ohne Bioraffinerien mit einem höheren regionalen Beschäftigungswachstum verbunden sein kann. Eine verbesserte Verfügbarkeit und Qualität von Daten zu Bioraffinerien kann die Forschung in diesem Bereich unterstützen und die Entwicklung der Bioökonomie in Europa fördern.

Suggested Citation

  • Benz Xinqi Zhu & Maria Vrachioli & Johannes Sauer, 2023. "Regional Employment Impacts of Biorefineries in the EU," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 22(3), pages 44-50, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:eurcho:v:22:y:2023:i:3:p:44-50
    DOI: 10.1111/1746-692X.12417
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    References listed on IDEAS

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