Sustainable development: how can biotechnology contribute?

Sustainable development has become a priority for the world's policy makers. Among the broad range of technologies with the potential to reach the goal of sustainability, biotechnology could take an important place, especially in the fields of food production, renewable raw materials and energy, pollution prevention, and bioremediation. However, technical and economic problems still need to be solved. In some cases, the environmental impact of biotechnological applications has been misjudged; in other cases, expectations cannot yet be matched.