The bioeconomy offers opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions along the agrifood system by replacing fossil-based resources and processes with biological ones, from microbiome innovations, biofertilizers and biopesticides, to alternative proteins, bio-based plastics and textiles, and biological waste management, to name just a few. A sustainable and circular bioeconomy also presents opportunities to improve climate change adaptation and resilience, through promoting ecosystem restoration, supporting indigenous and local livelihoods based on biological products and services, and building the conditions for more sustainably managed forests and fisheries.

Several countries have identified circular bioeconomy as a strategy to achieve their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), some have included bioeconomy practices in their climate agenda, and others explicitly include bioeconomy strategies and policies as key elements in their pathway towards Paris Agreement targets.

FAO works with countries to improve policy coherence in order to achieve national sustainability objectives. Climate action is specifically referenced as a key criterion in the aspirational principles and criteria for a sustainable bioeconomy, produced by the FAO-led International Sustainable Bioeconomy Working Group (ISBWG).