Guest commentary: Let’s foster bioeconomy, not war!

I was born and raised just after the fall of the USSR and have studied Chemistry in peaceful Germany. Now I work as a lab head in industry, developing chemical specialty additives from biobased and fossil raw materials. Never did I expect to experience a day like last Thursday, 24^th February 2022. My Ukrainian partner and I awoke to terrible news. Her parents are from Luhansk in the East of Ukraine. More than once, her family had to flee from Russian troops.

For hours we tried to organize a transport for her sister who – until just recently – lived North of the capital Kyjiw, a place that Russian troops have started attacking. In the night, her sister and parents were able to finally reunite in a small village outside Kyjiw, were they hide until now together with other refugees. They are not safe, but in a little less immediate danger.

Having felt helpless in the face of such deep pain in the person that is closest to me has made me wonder: What could I as a chemist do to contribute to long term change? What’s my plea to my German government? I want to share my thoughts with you.

We always discuss renewable materials regarding sustainability and performance benefits. The Russian invasion in Ukraine shed light on an aspect that we chemists have almost neglected so far: We need to build a diversified bioeconomy to escape the dependence from “fossil autocracies”.

Throughout the grimmest days of the Cold War, we continued purchasing fossils from USSR due to a lack of alternatives and political reluctance to systemic change. Nowadays, we have the technologies to change to renewable energy and carbon sources. However, we still implicitly finance several fossil autocracies in exchange for gas and oil. When we purchase fossil carbon for energy generation or manufacturing chemicals, we help uphold if not strengthen dictatorships that impinge on human rights. We are misguided to believe that investing in trade relations with autocracies like Russia will help democratize and humanize their politics.

Here is a cynical idea: Similar to how we calculate a mass-balanced bio-content for mixed carbon sources, we could calculate a ratio to measure the mass of tanks or bombs that we finance through those fossils. Has that ever been included in an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)? Shifting towards a bioeconomy won’t save our friends in Ukraine whose life I and many other colleagues fear for today. Nevertheless, it is urgent that we start this shift now and break free from the grip of fossil autocracies. Let’s foster renewable energy and build a bioeconomy now!

Author

Dr. Ruben Richrath

Source

Guest commentary by Dr. Ruben Richrath, 2022-02-25.

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