European Commission will present an ambitious circular economy strategy in late 2015
The Commission is aiming to present a new, more ambitious circular economy strategy late in 2015, to transform Europe into a more competitive resource-efficient economy, addressing a range of economic sectors, including waste.
The proposal will be fully aligned with the priorities of the new Commission. The Commission is engaged in a thorough reflection on how the objective of circular economy can be reached in an efficient way that is fully compatible with the jobs and growth agenda.
The new strategy will include a new legislative proposal on waste targets, taking into account the input already given to us during public consultations, and by Council and in Parliament, in particular the comments made by many that the previous proposals needed to be more country-specific.
More information: Circular economy roadmap
As part of the process, the Commission is launching a public consultation on the subject from the 28th May until the 20th August 2015.
CLOSING THE LOOP – Circular Economy: boosting business, reducing waste
The Commission is organising a Circular Economy Conference in Brussels on 25 June 2015. The conference is open to all stakeholders wishing to contribute in shaping the European economy policy making. It will consist of a plenary session with keynote from circular economy experts and business and civil society representatives, followed by a series of split up sessions addressing specific aspects of the circular economy, and it will be closed by a panel.
Please note that attendance is free but registration is required. More details are available on the Registration website or you can contact the event mail box:GROW-ENV-CIRCULAR-ECONOMY-CONFERENCE-2015@ec.europa.eu
What is a circular economy?
Since the industrial revolution, waste has constantly grown. This is because our economies have used a “take-make-consume and dispose” pattern of growth – a linear model which assumes that resources are abundant, available and cheap to dispose of.
What we need is a more circular economy. This means re-using, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products. What used to be regarded as ‘waste’ can be turned into a resource. The aim is to look beyond waste and to close the loop of the circular economy. All resources need to be managed more efficiently throughout their life cycle.
Using resources more efficiently will also bring new growth and job opportunities. Better eco-design, waste prevention and reuse can bring net savings for EU businesses of up to EUR 600 billion, while also reducing total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Additional measures to increase resource productivity by 30% by 2030 could boost GDP by nearly 1%, while creating 2 million additional jobs.
Moving towards a circular economy is at the heart of the resource efficiency agenda established under the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The main ideas on how to do more with less are being taken further in the EU’s Environment Action Programme to 2020.
(Jean-Christophe Delhaye)
Vous devez être connecté pour poster un commentaire.