Smart Net-Zero

February 22, 2024 | European Environmental Agency | 

A briefing from the European Environment Agency (EEA) highlights the potential of recycling, repair, re-use, and reducing material consumption through circular business models to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions, complementing Europe's climate change mitigation efforts. Despite ongoing initiatives in waste management and circular economy, the briefing suggests that more needs to be done to account for these actions and their emissions savings in climate policies and reporting. Aligning circular economy and waste management policies can enhance climate change mitigation, with the waste sector showing a notable decrease in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. However, circular economy actions are often underrepresented in national climate policies, indicating a need for greater integration and quantification of their impact on emission reductions.

Figure | The circular economy concept (Source: EEA)