European Environment Agency | Source |
Circular economy and waste management practices significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by decreasing the need for new primary materials and improving resource efficiency. Despite their potential, these actions are underrepresented in national climate policies and reporting, largely due to cross-sectoral challenges, such as in quantifying their impacts.
Key Messages
- Underrepresentation in Policies: Circular economy actions are often not fully integrated into climate policies. In Europe, only 6% of reported climate measures focus on circular economy, primarily related to waste.
- Quantification Challenges: The GHG reduction potential of circular economy measures is frequently underestimated due to difficulties in quantifying their impacts and their integration into existing reporting frameworks.
- Waste Sector Contribution: Although the waste sector contributes about 3% of total GHG emissions, better resource use can mitigate emissions in other sectors. Methane from landfills is a major issue, but emissions have decreased significantly due to improved waste management practices.
Recommendations
- Increase Integration: Improve the inclusion of circular economy actions in national climate mitigation reporting to better capture their potential benefits.
- Enhance Quantification: Develop robust models and methodologies to quantify the GHG reduction potential of circular economy measures accurately.
- Policy Coordination: Foster cross-sectoral collaboration to integrate circular economy measures into broader climate policies and reporting systems.
- Legislative Support: Analyze and propose additional legislative measures to support the implementation of circular economy practices.
Next Steps
- Raise awareness and improve coordination between circular economy and climate policy experts.
- Identify and integrate high-impact circular economy measures into national climate reporting.
- Monitor progress and adjust policies as needed.
Figure ｜ Challenges and solutions for integrating circular economy policies and climate policies