Piergiuseppe Morone, University of Rome, Italy

Efficiency, Market failure, public policy and the environment & The role of society in the transition towards a circular bioeconomy by Piergiuseppe Morone, University of Rome, Italy.

“The objective of my lectures was twofold.

The first three-hour session aimed at providing students with an overview on resource and environmental economics by putting environmental economic theories in the context of bioeconomy, and by outlining the fundamental characteristics of an economics approach to environmental analysis. The analysis developed along two lines: (1) market failures and the environment; (2) sustainability and intergenerational equity. To this end, the lecture animated a discussion on the economy– environment interdependence, how this concept develops in the context of bioeconomy (including a discussion on the circular use of resources) and which tools can be used to model it.

The second three-hour session developed the concepts of transition and paradigm shift and further discussed the concept of a sustainable transition towards a circular bio-based economy. During the lecture, dynamics and actors involved in the purposive sustainability transition at a micro (e.g. pilot projects, emerging technologies), meso (e.g. leading sectors and industries) and macro (global social, economic and environmental drivers) level were identified and their roles discussed.

Students actively participated to both sessions showing a great interest on socio-economic aspects associated with the bioeconomy transition. The discussion provided an opportunity to blend the technical knowledge already possessed by the students (all with backgrounds in engineering, chemistry, biology, etc.) with the new economic concepts presented during the lecture.”