Bioeconomy-green finance-innovation nexus: what is the role for policy?

In this seminar event the panel members will present on and discuss the nexus between bioeconomy, finance mechanisms and innovation. The event will also focus on public actors and policies, and on the fundamental role of innovation policy and robust state capacity for steering a green transition based on the “bioeconomy”.

The discussion will assess current policy frameworks and introduce key new research. Insights will be drawn from the UNEP Climate Technology Progress Report 2025, which this year focuses on the bioeconomy, and from recent IPCC reports.

Both panel members have been co-authors of UNEP CTPR 2025. Dr Rocio A. Diaz-Chavez was the lead author of the finance chapter of the UNEP CTPR 2025 report. Dr Francis X Johnson was the lead author of the Governance chapter. Both were authors in the IPCC special report on Climate Change and Land, and Dr Francis X Johnson also contributed to the writing team for the IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report.

Meet the panel:

• Speaker: Dr Rocio A Diaz-Chavez, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Policy of Imperial College London
• Speaker: Dr Francis X. Johnson, Senior Research Fellow at SEI HQ in Stockholm on the Agriculture, Land and Bioeconomy Team – Resources, Rights and Development Division
• Discussant: Damon Aitken, Research Fellow at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
• Chair: Giovanni Tagliani, PhD Candidate at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)