This working paper outlines how a circular economy (CE) can help avert the climate crisis. It outlines nine calls-to-action to take to maximise CE benefits in order to help limit warming to 1.5 ̊C and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Shift consumption patterns
Stimulate product circularity from the design phase
Incorporate circularity across clean energy value chains
Integrate CE strategies into national climate policies and plans
Incentivise cross-border greenhouse gas emission reductions
Connect CE metrics with climate change impacts
Increase transparency and comparability in modelling methodologies
Apply systemic and context-specific impact assessment to inform decision-making
Investigate the role of CE in climate change adaptation.
Neue Effizienz is an institution for knowledge transfer and research in the area of energy and resource efficiency based in Wuppertal, Germany. As a regional association, it is funded by the municipalities, public utilities and regional economic development institutions of Wuppertal, Solingen and Remscheid.
It promotes innovation as well as science and technology transfer in the fields of energy, circular economy, new mobility and smart cities.bergisch.metall, a competence network for the metal industry, fouses on the circular economy; the bergisch.circular project assists the municipalities with the establishment of intermunicipal structures and initiatives supporting the circular transformation.
Following the success of Lignofuels 2022 which brought 150+ senior industry professionals to Helsinki in June 2022, we are pleased to announce that the 2023 conference will be taking place in Helsinki again on 8-9 February 2023.
The Hydro Ben project focuses on resource recovery for reuse in other industrial activities. It consists of recovering fatty substances from wastewater in professional catering facilities, by means of a special device which is placed under the sink.
One major issue at the moment is making the EU less reliant on Russia.
This paper from the CEPS Think thank provides insights on Russia’s share among EU sources of key supplies for low-carbon technologies. It looks at prospects for meeting future material demands through circularity for three technologies: lithium-ion batteries, wind turbines and fuel cell electric vehicles.
Russia is among the larger suppliers of raw materials to the EU. It is the biggest world supplier for palladium, platinum and nickel, and a prominent one for aluminium and copper. The country still holds large untapped reserves of rare-earth elements.
This paper provides an overview of EU import dependency on raw materials and Russia’s share among EU sources of key supplies for low-carbon technologies. It then looks at prospects for meeting future material demands through circularity for three technologies, namely lithium-ion batteries, wind turbines and fuel cell electric vehicles.
The analysis is based on two scenarios with different levels of ambition. They aim to give an indication of the scale of potential benefits that can be achieved through circular approaches.
The project EffiSludge for LIFE has found a way to clean industrial wastewater with significant environmental benefits. The project team has developed an integrated wastewater treatment method that takes an "industrial symbiosis" approach where the waste from one sector becomes a resource for another.
To evaluate the impact of adopting circular economy principles in cities – in terms of emissions, quality of life and resilience – Enel and ARUP, with the scientific support of the Enel Foundation, have collaborated on a research project focusing on four cities: Bogotá, Genoa, Glasgow and Milan, all committed to enhancing the energy transition.
The study concerns three key urban sectors:
mobility
built environment
energy systems.
It entailed interviews with stakeholders and analyses of existing decarbonisation policies and circular strategies. A reference model was used to help identify the most significant circular actions that could lead to a reduction in GHG emissions in three sectors.
The results could be used as a guide for decision makers.
