This report sets out practical pathways for the G20 to design innovative trade and finance mechanisms that scale the global bioeconomy while driving an equitable, sustainable economic transformation.
Overview
Achieving global climate goals requires more than a transition to renewable energy. It also demands a comprehensive economic transformation that leverages nature’s productive capacity. The World Bioeconomy Forum estimates the current value of the bioeconomy at US$4 trillion, with Boston Consulting Group’s Henderson Institute projecting growth to US$30 trillion by 2050, or about one-third of global GDP.[1][2] At this scale, the bioeconomy offers a critical pathway for sustainable economic transformation amid escalating resource extraction pressures and climate challenges.
Trade is central to unlocking this potential. Biodiversity-based trade already represents 17% of total global trade and 7% of global GDP, with even higher shares in many emerging economies—from 29% of exports in Indonesia to 94% in Ethiopia (Figure 1). [3]
Yet, in the absence of effective policies and regulatory frameworks, bioeconomy trade risks exacerbating biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and climate change. Current trade structures also often disadvantage bio-based alternatives compared to conventional products, while technological disparities between developed and developing countries create structural barriers to participation.
At the request of South Africa’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, and as knowledge partner to the 2025 G20 Presidency, NatureFinance prepared this report as a contribution to the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB). It builds on discussions held at the 2nd GIB meeting in Mbombela, South Africa (May 2025), where trade was identified as a key enabler of bioeconomy growth.
Key Findings
The bioeconomy can deliver up to one-third of the global emissions reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5°C, while simultaneously delivering adaptation and resilience benefits through nature-based solutions that strengthen ecosystem services and community livelihoods. [4]
Scaling this opportunity requires targeted action in six priority areas:
1. Policy integration: Link bioeconomy strategies with circular economy policies and national climate commitments, establishing clear regulatory distinctions between bio-based and fossil fuel products.
2. Trade infrastructure: Develop preferential trading arrangements for bio-based products and establish specialised customs facilities with digital verification systems.
3. Regional cooperation: Strengthen technology transfer mechanisms and establish joint financing facilities for cross-border projects, including initiatives such as the African Bioeconomy Finance Hub.
4. Data and standards harmonisation and interoperability: Create interoperable systems for measuring, reporting, and verifying bioeconomy activities, using international mechanisms such as the Codex Alimentarius while building national capacity in Digital Sequence Information (DSI).
5. Financial realignment: Redirect subsidies toward bio-based goods and services, gradually reduce fossil fuel subsidies, and prioritize bioeconomy products in public procurement to create stable demand.
6. Market incentives: Deploy time-bound financial, regulatory, tax, and supply chain incentives to accelerate market transformation and enable new technologies to achieve product-market fit.
Looking ahead
This paper forms part of NatureFinance’s broader effort to align trade, finance, and nature agendas under the G20 and beyond.
Over the coming months, NatureFinance will convene a series of webinars to engage stakeholders and deepen dialogue on bioeconomy and trade. The findings will also inform the upcoming CARICOM convening in St. Lucia in October 2025, focused on building a sustainable and inclusive trade and bioeconomy agenda for the region.
We look forward to bringing these insights to COP30 in Belém, where trade–climate–nature intersections are expected to feature prominently on the global agenda.
For questions or comments, please contact indekhwa.anangwe@naturefinance.net.
This report was authored by Indekhwa Joy Anangwe, Julie McCarthy and Mark Halle with contributions from Fiona Napier, Isobel Cohen, and Monique Atouguia. Editorial assistance by Roberta Zandonai and Lucy Martin, design and layout by Natan Aquino.
The authors would also like to thank the following colleagues and partners for their valuable insights and contributions: Dr. Chantal Line Carpentier, Francis X. Johnson, Glen Hamilton Wilson, Henrique Silva Pacini Costa, Lorena Jaramillo, Ricardo Meléndez Ortiz.
This input paper also benefitted from contributions from the Forum on Trade, Sustainability and SDGs (TESS), with thanks to Carolyn Deere Birkbeck and Christophe Bellmann.
[1] World Economic Forum. (2024). Emerging Technologies: Why the global bioeconomy urgently needs technical standards and metrics. https://bit.ly/48nq7e3
[2] BCG Henderson Institute. (2022). Synthetic biology is about to disrupt your industry. https://bit.ly/469BQLZ
[3] UNCTAD. (n.d.). UN Trade and Development Data Hub. https://bit.ly/4nabRtP
[4] Gomez, S. J., S, H., & I, A. (2022). Sustainable And Circular Bioeconomy In The Climate Agenda – Opportunities To Transform Agrifood Systems. Rome: FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2668en
