Exploring the geography of innovation and sustainability transitions in the bioeconomy

Abstract

This editorial introduces the special issue on the geography of innovation and sustainability transitions in the bioeconomy, situating the bioeconomy as a policy-driven transformation project with strong regional and multi-scalar implications. The special issue contains six papers that focus on different parts of the bioeconomy and employ a wide range of empirical approaches; jointly, they provide fruitful insights into the geography of bioeconomy innovation. Building on these insights, we outline three main directions for future research: first, developing a more nuanced view of bioeconomy innovation that incorporates digital and controversial innovations as well as place-specific (re)valuation processes; second, examining the multi-system nature of bioeconomy transitions across sectors, industries and land uses; and third, adopting a global perspective on bio-based value chains, geopolitics and justice. We close by calling for methodological and epistemological pluralism to better capture the complex, spatially uneven dynamics of the (global) bioeconomy transition.