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On the Circular Bioeconomy and Decoupling: Implications for Sustainable Growth
Open accessAbstract
This paper explores the existing confusion around the conceptual definitions and interpretations of the term circular bioeconomy. The co-existence of diametrically opposite interpretations of the concept indicates lack of a serious discussion of its theoretical foundations. Two narratives on circular bioeconomy are explored in depth: (i) the new economic paradigm based on technological progress (the economics of technological promises) that seeks perpetual economic growth; (ii) an entropic (thermodynamic) narrative that reflects on the limits on economic growth imposed by nature. The latter narrative makes a distinction between primary, secondary and tertiary resource flows and helps to identify what can and cannot be re-circulated within the metabolic pattern of social-ecological systems. Adopting the biophysical view, it becomes clear that the industrial revolution represented a linearization of material and energy flows with the goal to overcome the low pace and density of biological transformations. The required level of productivity of production factors in contemporary developed economies (flows per hour of labor and per hectare of land use) is orders of magnitude larger than the pace and density of supply and sink capacity of natural processes. Relying on nature to ‘close the loop’ will simply slow down the economic process. • Confusion around the concept of circular bioeconomy is explored • The concept is linked to Georgescu-Roegen's fund-flow model • The industrial revolution was a movement from a circular to a linearized economy • Dependence on renewable ecological fund-flows slows down the economic process • Current productivity of productions factors is incompatible with circular bioeconomy
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“Similar to the circular economy, the bioeconomy is an emerging field whose definitions and interpretations are also surrounded by confusion (Aguilar et al., 2019; Giampietro, 2019).”
From Circular Bioeconomy Concepts—A Perspective (2021) · cites this paper as Giampietro, 2019
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BackgroundEnergetic and Economic Evaluation of Zero-Waste Fish Co-Stream Processing
Venslauskas, K., Navickas, K., Nappa, M., Kangas, P., Mozūraitytė, R., Šližytė, R., & Župerka, V. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18052358 · Cited by 20
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Self-citationThe role of agricultural extension services on supporting circular bioeconomy in Indonesia
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“Hence, the dominant vision is criticized for its technological solutionism in the sense of “economics of technological promises” (Giampietro 2019, p. 143) and for aiming “less at decarbonizing society and more at substituting renewable biomass for fossil carbon” (Levidow et al.”
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“Public policies that are oriented towards natural resources and energy saving, followed by optimization of industrial management will encourage an increase in regional income and an increase in environmental quality (Giampietro, 2019; Surya et al., 2020).”
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Yang, N.-H. N., & Yang, A. (2022) · Cleaner Production Letters · doi:10.1016/j.clpl.2022.100015 · Cited by 18
Is green growth possible and even desirable in a spaceship economy?
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“While aiming to enhance production efficiency by minimising resource use, this method alone does not address the rise in resource consumption driven by economic growth and market expansion, leading to an overall net increase in resource usage (Giampietro, 2019).”
Role of Bioeconomy in Circular Economy
Yadav, B., Atmakuri, A., Chavan, S., Tyagi, R. D., Drogui, P., & Pilli, S. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-821878-5.00022-2 · Cited by 17
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“However, the biosphere cannot be assumed to be completely on this linear path as it is also determined by cycles (Giampietro 2019).”
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“Here, he points out a crucial distinction between the standard, mechanistic (neoclassical) model of production and consumption and actual biological energy-cycles, ranging from geological shifts to human metabolisms (see Giampietro 2019).”
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“…changes required to addresses global challenges, as the Bioeconomy can potentially create synergies among the various dimensions of sustainability (Giampietro, 2019; Peters, Jandrić and Hayes, 2020) secondary and tertiary resource flows and helps to identify what can and cannot be re-circulated…”
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Bioeconomy as a promise of development? The cases of Argentina and Malaysia
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“2018), the problems they entail (Birch and Tyfield 2013; Giampietro 2019; Vivien et al. 2019) or the extent to which the bioeconomy has already been implemented (Bringezu et al.”
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European bioeconomy strategies could better integrate sustainability agendas
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“However, diverse perspectives on the concept of bioeconomy have evolved since its emergence in the 1990s (Giampietro 2019), leading to a need for a more integrated approach to its holistic understanding.”
Bioeconomy, Planning and Sustainable Development: A Theoretical Framework
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“These initiatives, operating under a comprehensive cascading approach, ensure that the bioeconomy not only represents a responsible and sustainable environmental pathway but also serves as a dynamic catalyst for economic growth and the resilience of countries and regions (Giampietro 2019).”
Gugliucci, W., Pepe, O., & Ventorino, V. (2024) · Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture · doi:10.1186/s40538-024-00710-w · Cited by 15
“Furthermore, the circular bioeconomy is not only based on the replacement of fossil resources with renewable biological resources but requires sustainable supply chains, low-carbon energy, and sustainable bioconversion technologies to produce high-added value chemicals and materials [7].”
Girard, G. (2022) · Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy · doi:10.1016/j.clcb.2022.100030 · Cited by 17
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“…2017), going beyond the traditional developmental policies, promoting a viable growth, possible enhancing well-being and social equality inspired by a qualitative approach to the development (getting better) rather than a quantitative approach (getting bigger) (Giampietro, 2019; Rees, 2020).”
BackgroundMethodThe methods and factors of decoupling energy usage and economic growth
Basu, S., Ogawa, T., & Ishihara, K. N. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-85387-3.00002-1 · Cited by 13
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“In terms of sustainability-oriented transformations in agrifood systems and beyond, the concept of a sustainable (circular) bioeconomy has recently been evoked (Giampietro 2019).”
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Upcycling biomass in a circular food system : The role of livestock and fish
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“At least in theory, the circular economy can serve multiple values and worldviews, or in other words, system intents or goals (e.g., profitability vs sustainability; growth vs de/postgrowth) (Ghisellini et al., 2016; Giampietro, 2019).”
van Rooyen, A., Bjørnlund, H., Moyo, M., Pittock, J., Parry, K., & Mujeyi, A. C. (2025) · International Journal of Water Resources Development · doi:10.1080/07900627.2024.2449224 · Cited by 12
“This approach often involves leveraging technological advancements to maximize biomass conversion into high-value products, with a strong emphasis on the role of biorefineries and advanced waste management methods (for in-depth reviews and definitions see Giampietro, 2019; Tan & Lamers, 2021).”
Entendiendo la economía circular desde una visión ecuatoriana y latinoamericana
Chafla-Martínez, P. R., & Lascano-Vaca, M. (2021) · Ciencia Unemi · doi:10.29076/issn.2528-7737vol14iss36.2021pp73-86p · Cited by 12
Prospects for a circular bioeconomy in urban ecosystems: Proposal for a theoretical framework
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Growth in floor area: the blind spot in cutting carbon
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“Decoupling (to decrease the dependence of growth on the use of natural resources), for which studies have demonstrated that a decoupling effect seems to have occurred in G20 countries with strategies for emission control, energy consumption, and economic decoupling supported by diversification, a sustainable energy co…”
BackgroundSurya, B., Salim, A., Suriani, S., Menne, F., & Rasyidi, E. S. (2021) · International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy · doi:10.32479/ijeep.11502 · Cited by 11
“Public policies that are oriented towards natural resources and energy saving, followed by optimization of industrial management will encourage an increase in regional income and an increase in environmental quality (Giampietro, 2019; Surya et al., 2020).”
BackgroundCircular Economy Induced Resilience in Socio-Ecological Systems: an Ecolonomic Perspective
Katakojwala, R., Advaitha, K., Patil, J. K., & Mohan, S. V. (2023) · Materials Circular Economy · doi:10.1007/s42824-023-00074-w · Cited by 11
“However, with increased economic activity due to industrialization and the linear nature of our production and consumption patterns, emissions have increased causing a rapid decline in environmental quality apart from resource extraction (Giampietro 2019).”
Dynamics of expectations in the bioeconomy—Hopes, disillusionments, and conflicting futures
Ahola-Launonen, J., & Kurki, S. (2022) · Science and Public Policy · doi:10.1093/scipol/scac030 · Cited by 9
The entropic nature of the economic process
Giampietro, M. (2022) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003244196-5 · Cited by 10
Self-citationEnhancing the circular bioeconomy transition in Germany: A systematic scenario analysis
Richter, S., Szarka, N., Bezama, A., & Thrän, D. (2024) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2024.12.004 · Cited by 9
How can relational, decolonial and feminist approaches inform the EU bioeconomy?
Ramcilovic‐Suominen, S., Giuntoli, J., Oliver, T. H., & Mehta, L. (2025) · Sustainability Science · doi:10.1007/s11625-024-01613-3 · Cited by 12
Circularity potential identification for new bio-materials using material flow analysis
Kruczek, M., Jąderko-Skubis, K., Markowska, M., Zgórska, A., & Białowąs, M. (2025) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179649 · Cited by 11
Mora, M. A. M., Martínez-Bravo, R. D., Baril, C. F., Hernández, M. F., & Martínez-Delgadillo, S. A. (2020) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app10020622 · Cited by 10
“The FF-LCA approach was coupled with the CO2FIX model and the GIS to check the availability of suitable forest land for carbon sequestration (see Figure 1) considering the ability of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to achieve their self-organizing perspective [15,52].”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialWie radikal ist der Green New Deal?
Smith, T. (2021) · PROKLA Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft · doi:10.32387/prokla.v51i202.1928 · Cited by 10
Cost Profile of 3D Printing Using Biomaterials on a Lab Scale
(2022) · Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry · doi:10.33263/briac131.093 · Cited by 12
“ongoing scientific deliberations about the likelihood of decoupling [25,26], which have an established history as part of the wider question on the reconciliation of environmental and financial objectives.”
BackgroundMulti-scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism
Giampietro, M. (2023) · Studies in ecological economics · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22566-6_10 · Cited by 10
Self-citationNavigating the Biocosmos: Cornerstones of a Bioeconomic Utopia
Onyeali, W., Schlaile, M. P., & Winkler, B. (2023) · Land · doi:10.3390/land12061212 · Cited by 13
A review of socio-metabolic research on circularity in agri-food systems and pathways to action
Harchaoui, S., Grillot, M., Courtonne, J., & Madelrieux, S. (2024) · Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10705-024-10344-x · Cited by 14
“…the physical impossibility of 100% circularity and the incompatibility of circularity with continued growth of material consumption (Grosse 2010; Giampietro 2019), (ii) the need to examine and quantify the trade-offs associated with making the economy more circular (Giampi-etro 2019) and (iii)…”
Strategy for Circularity Enhancement in Bioeconomy Sector: A Case Study from Biogas Sector of Nepal
Jha, N., Mainali, B., & Lohani, S. (2024) · Circular Economy and Sustainability · doi:10.1007/s43615-024-00402-5 · Cited by 7
Joxe, S., & Bahers, J. (2024) · Cambridge Journal of Regions Economy and Society · doi:10.1093/cjres/rsae020 · Cited by 14
Javed, F., Hassan, A. A., & Al‐Zuhair, S. (2025) · Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances · doi:10.1016/j.hazadv.2025.100797 · Cited by 9
Noja, G. G., Buglea, A., Ion, L. P., & Jurcuț, C. N. (2020) · Quality & Quantity · doi:10.1007/s11135-020-01015-4 · Cited by 9
“…Commission (2018) explicitly references the term “circular bioeconomy” and acknowledges an action plan directed towards achieving a sustainable, circular bioeconomy, by combining the two sides of the circular economy and bioeconomy into a single approach (GeorgescuRoegen 1975; Giampietro 2019).”
BackgroundStarke, J. R., Metze, T. A. P., Candel, J., Dewulf, A. R. P. J., & Termeer, C. J. A. M. (2023) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139058 · Cited by 11
The Spiralling Economy: Connecting Marxian Theory with Ecological Economics
Rammelt, C. F. (2019) · Environmental Values · doi:10.3197/096327119x15747870303881 · Cited by 9
“…of Ecological Economics (Georgescu-Roegen 1970, 1971; Gowdy and Mesner 1998; Daly and Farley 2011), which evolved to a large extent from Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen’s Bioeconomics – a term that has been largely abandoned by ecological economists due to ambiguities with its usage (Giampietro 2019).”
BackgroundInfluentialFaulkner, M., Andrews, F., & Scrutton, N. (2024) · Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts · doi:10.1186/s13068-024-02589-z · Cited by 8
“Cyanobacteria are a phylum of photosynthetic organisms that have long been touted as a key asset in establishing a circular bioeconomy [1].”
Buckton, S. J., Kenter, J. O., Mukherjee, N., Waddock, S. A., Anger-Kraavi, A., Martino, S., Fazey, I., Hejnowicz, A. P., Kabubo‐Mariara, J., Lafayette, J. O., et al. (2024) · Global Social Challenges Journal · doi:10.1332/27523349y2024d000000025 · Cited by 9
Biotechnology or bioeconomy: Six of one and half a dozen of the other?
Lhuillery, S., Béfort, N., & Atmane, S. (2024) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108470 · Cited by 8
Thou shalt not take the name of bioeconomy in vain
Giampietro, M., Funtowicz, S., & Bukkens, S. G. F. (2025) · Sustainability Science · doi:10.1007/s11625-025-01633-7 · Cited by 11
“…of bioeconomy, often associated with the idea of a circular economy, is about moving to a bio-based carbon economy that is assumed to solve, simultaneously, the problem of exhaustion of fossil energy sources and the problem of excessive GHG emissions (Giampietro 2019; Vivien et al. 2019).”
Self-citationPashakolaie, V. G., Gonella, S., & Muhit, I. B. (2025) · Bioresource Technology Reports · doi:10.1016/j.biteb.2025.102125 · Cited by 13
Jander, W., Günther, J., & Prochnow, A. (2025) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146872 · Cited by 8
Rural bioeconomies in Europe: Socio-ecological conflicts, marginalized people and practices
Friedrich, J., Holz, J., Koch, P., Pungas, L., Eversberg, D., & Zscheischler, J. (2023) · GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society · doi:10.14512/gaia.32.2.3 · Cited by 8
“…imbued with a capitalist and expansionist logic, a reliance on technocentered innovation paradigms, and an image of the bioeconomy as a motor of green growth (e. g., Giampietro 2019), collide with the local traditions and socio-ecological arrangements characteristic of these four bioeconomies.”
BackgroundSustainability in agri-food systems: transformative trajectories toward the post-Anthropocene
Keck, M. (2021) · Sustainability Science · doi:10.1007/s11625-021-00947-6 · Cited by 8
“…(Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2013; Kirchherr et al. 2017) into action and what knowledge gaps remain to be bridged before we can think of “closing material loops” to ultimately decouple agri-food systems from finite resource consumption (Giampietro 2019; Koppelmäki et al. 2021; Zink and Geyer 2017)?”
Monciardini, D., Dalhammar, C. J., & Malcolm, R. (2022) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131341 · Cited by 8
Sustainable Circular Cities: Analysing Urban Circular Economy Policies in Three European CitiesPreprint
Friant, M. C., Reid, K. M., Boesler, P., Vermeulen, W. J. V., & Salomone, R. (2022) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4133478 · Cited by 8
Escobar, C. H. G., Torres, J. C. G., & Rodríguez, A. O. V. (2024) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su162310370 · Cited by 7
X-Shoring and the Circular Economy: Drivers, Synergies, and Geographic Interrelations
Stihl, L., Friedrich, J., & Grillitsch, M. (2025) · Economic Geography · doi:10.1080/00130095.2025.2589080 · Cited by 7
“This appears in the win-win-win rhetoric in policy strategies, where the circular economy is presented as advancing economic development, environmental quality, and social equity at the same time (see, e.g., Giampietro 2019).”
Enabling factors and critical extensions for the algal-based bioplastics industry
Lee, T., Wearne, S., Wakefield‐Rann, R., & Scardifield, K. (2024) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142365 · Cited by 7
Mango, F., & Vincent, R. C. (2025) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108533 · Cited by 7
Metadata
- Authors
- Giampietro, M.
- Affiliations
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Giampietro, Mario
- ORCID
- Giampietro, Mario
- Venue
- Ecological Economics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-08
- Volume
- 162
- Pages
- 143-156
- ISSN
- 0921-8009 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2943950764
- Cited by
- 376
- References
- 119
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 73 · 2021: 69 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 11
- FWCI
- 95.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Ecological Economics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MDM2015-0552)
- European Commission (HORIZON2020, 689669)
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MDM-2015-0552)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Sustainability and Ecological Systems Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy
- Keywords
- circular bioeconomy, decoupling, sustainable growth, limits to growth, biophysical economics, Georgescu-Roegen, resource flows, Industrial Revolution, thermodynamic limit, social-ecological systems
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