European lobby outlines hemp’s potential for climate-neutral future of EU

Europe’s main hemp lobby group says industrial cannabis could play a starring role in the European Union’s plan for a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

The European Industrial Hemp Association paper, outlines the ways that the crop can support the European Green Deal – the EU’s long-term plan to shift to a clean, circular economy, stop climate change, revert biodiversity loss and cut pollution.

Written by senior policy analyst Francesco Mirizzi, the paper highlights industrial hemp’s ability to yield multiple products from one rotational crop and to contribute to reduced emissions as a carbon-negative raw material that “potentially represents multi-billion-euro downstream markets, particularly in manufacturing of reusable, recyclable and compostable biomaterials.”

The paper outlines the role that hemp plays in biodiversity, the food and feed industries, cosmetics, construction material, biocomposites, fibers, textiles and paper products, and how EU policy makers can maximize the crop’s contributions to these industries.