Knowledge, research, and Germany's bioeconomy: Inclusion and exclusion in bioenergy funding policies

Abstract

Germany plays a protagonist role in promoting bioeconomy funding policies for research and innovation (R&I). Conceptualizing the role of (unequal) knowledge production in changing socio-energy systems with reference to energy justice research, Rosa Lehmann distils the role of bioenergy-related R&I funding and emphasizes that the national bioeconomy agenda has thus far failed to integrate and reinvigorate the knowledge and practices of civil society actors engaged in cooperative schemes promoting citizen-based bioenergy production. Lehmann argues that the inclusion of these experiences is fundamental to any bioeconomy agenda that not only aims to induce technological change but also to stimulate societal change.