Environment Week: Expert forum on biotechnology and decarbonisation

files/tlf_content/nachrichten/2016/Foto_Woche_der_Umwelt.jpg
From left to right: Ralf Fücks (Heinrich Böll Foundation, Christine
Lang (Bioeconomy Council, Organobalance), Andre Koltermann
(Clariant Deutschland), Susanne Flechsig (BMWi) and Jens Freitag
(Genius). © BIO Deutschland

On 7 and 8 June, German President Joachim Gauck and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) hosted the Environment Week in the beautiful park of Berlin’s Bellevue Palace. This was the fifth time that the survey of environmental projects has been held at the president’s official residence.

As part of the “Resources” expert forum, BIO Deutschland organised a panel discussion entitled “A Future Without Oil: Will Decarbonisation Speed Up or Slow Down the Economy?”.

Panellists included moderator Jens Freitag (Genius GmbH), Susanne Flechsig (head of the BMWi’s Biotech Industry, Bioeconomy, Food Industry division), Ralf Fücks (executive board member of the Heinrich Böll Foundation), Andre Koltermann (head of Biotech & Renewables Center at Clariant Produkte [Deutschland] GmbH and board member of BIO Deutschland) and Christine Lang (co-chair of the Bioeconomy Council and managing director of Organobalance GmbH). The expert panellists unanimously agreed that Germany in its position as an innovation engine and a strong economic power, must take on a global leadership role in the biologisation of traditional industries. They also noted that sustainable German technologies could contribute substantially to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (decarbonisation), and that a successful transformation of the economy could only be achieved with the help of biotechnology

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