An EU Vision for Life Science and Biotechnology for a Healthy and Sustainable EU

With the ambitious target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and the EU Green Deal, the EU has set clear goals to transform the bloc´s economy making it more sustainable while supporting the EU recovery.

Life sciences and biotechnology remain critical key-enabling technologies for the economy, generating GDP of over €34.5 billion, employing 223,000 people directly in the EU and generating a trade surplus of €22 billion in 2018.  Moreover, the CO2 mitigation potential of industrial biotech is estimated between 1-2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year by 2030.

The Danish life science and biotechnology contributed to the local economy with over €14 billion export of goods and employing around 48,000 jobs in 2019. Given the importance of this sector for the Danish economy, the government is working on a new political strategy for the life science sector to succeed the sector’s growth plan implemented in March 2018.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to employ a holistic and strategic approach and exploit synergies among various EU policies, such as in the areas of research and innovation, industry and health. Furthermore, it showed us that the speed at which technologies develop requires that legislation is constantly up-to-date and able to embrace new sustainable innovation. Investing in the transition to a new sustainable economy requires modernised legislation that can support the green transition in the Member States and support the advancement of the EU life science and biotechnology to ensure they continue their main purpose to support the European Union’s ambitious agenda for healthy people and healthy planet.

VIRTUAL EVENT