A-13/23 Socio-cultural conditions for social acceptance of bioeconomy transitions: the case of Norway

Forfattere: Maja Farstad, Pia P. Otte og Erika Palmer

Under the umbrella of sustainable development, the bioeconomy presents one vision for overcoming complex sustainability challenges, such as climate change, by replacing non-renewable resources with renewable biological resources. But how will the efforts to implement this transition be received by the general public? Among Norwegians, the acceptance of a bioeconomic transition appears to be relatively high, and this study identifies critical enabling conditions in Norway that may be necessary to foster social acceptance in other countries as well. We employed a theoretical framework of social acceptance to demonstrate the complexity of this social phenomenon as a basis for an open and qualitative methodological approach. The study finds that trust, extinguished hopes of a pure life and intrepidness are enabling conditions that make people more receptive to new developments and future cultural adaption. As these fear averse conditions are not experienced globally, lower social acceptance of a bioeconomic transition can be expected elsewhere.

Environment, Development and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03403-w