Developed by Indigenous peoples centuries ago, it was only recently that the bioeconomy’s role in mitigating climate change and protecting biodiversity has gained momentum. Currently valued at $4 trillion globally, the bioeconomy is expected to reach $38.5 trillion by 2050. In the Pan-Amazon, home to more than 400 Indigenous peoples and the world’s largest river basin — but also to poverty and hunger levels above national averages and escalating violence — the bioeconomy represents a promising solution. “It offers livable alternatives to increasingly prevalent illicit activities and reduces the pressure of threats from loggers, miners and farmers,” Joaquin Carrizosa, strategic adviser to the Secretariat of the Pan-Amazon Network for Bioeconomy, told Mongabay. In September 2024, it secured a new, high-profile ally: the G20 group of the world’s biggest conventional economies. The G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB), which lists 10 voluntary high-level principles, is the first multilateral agreement to address the subject, according to the Brazilian government, which held the rotating G20 presidency at the time. Delegates at the inaugural GIB meeting. Image courtesy of Felipe Werneck/Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The GIB proposes international collaboration for sustainable development, and that the bioeconomy be inclusive and equitable. For experts like Luiz Brasi Filho, market coordinator at Rede Origens Brasil, a network that connects Amazon producers with companies and consumers, it was a symbolic achievement. “The common understanding reached by the GIB is a crucial step to level the field and direct national and international investments,” he told Mongabay. Yet,…This article was originally published on Mongabay