Global Bioeconomy: Unveiling the Biotrade Dimension and Regional Trade Dynamics with a Mediterranean Focus on Climate Justice

The bioeconomy has become a focal point for policymakers and international organizations as a strategy to tackle global challenges. Despite growing scientific focus on the local bioeconomy, its global dimensions, particularly in trade, are less explored. Integrating trade into the bioeconomy introduces trade-offs and spillover effects, emphasizing the need to balance economic growth with sustainability. This aligns with Davis's concept of "strong vs. weak sustainability," where strong sustainability maintains natural capital, while weak allows substitution with economic or human capital. Specialization of countries in bioeconomy sectors, based on comparative advantage, can lead to excessive resource exploitation, undermining climate change mitigation and food security, particularly in developing countries.

The analysis addresses: How is sustainability managed in bioeconomy trade literature? What are the most relevant sectors? How does innovation influence bioeconomy trade development? What are the specific challenges and opportunities in EU-Mediterranean trade relations concerning climate justice?

The approach used is a systematic literature review based on the SPAR-4-SLR protocol, expanding the PRISMA framework. The data collection in September 2023 on Scopus and WoS yielded a database of 114 documents. We also analyzed biotrade using UNCTAD data, assessing its share in total trade across regions and calculating the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) for Mediterranean countries. This research offers a detailed examination of bioeconomy trade, filling a gap in the literature, focusing on the Euro-Mediterranean area and implications for climate justice.

Preliminary findings show biomass is a dominant, growing sector. Socio-environmental sustainability is critical, highlighting risks of the "green growth" narrative neglecting social justice. Technological innovation is essential but requires substantial investment. Biodiversity-based trade forms a significant share of total trade, especially in Southern Europe and North Africa. A joint EU-Mediterranean strategy could promote bioeconomy trade but requires coherent policy alignment to address climate justice challenges.