Circularity as a Strategic Enabler to Climate Action

We are currently living through a triple planetary crisis. Although climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution each manifest differently, they all stem from a common underlying cause. The OECD’s Environmental Outlook on the Triple Planetary Crisis explicitly highlights this link: the linear economic model that proceeds from resource extraction through production to disposal. It extracts too much, uses the obtained resources far too briefly, and then discards them in disproportionately large quantities.

According to the International Resource Panel’s Global Resources Outlook, the extraction and processing of materials alone accounts for more than 55 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, focusing solely on the energy transition will not be sufficient to close this gap. What is required instead is a radical paradigm shift in the way we design, deploy and reintegrate materials, aiming to keep them within the economic system for as long as possible while extracting their highest possible value. This notion of circularity does not merely refer to waste management; it entails a deep, systemic redesign of our material based economy.

The climate agenda has also begun to incorporate these insights. At COP 28, the circular economy was mentioned for the first time in a formal cover decision. The Mitigation Work Programme further dedicated a specific strand to the mitigation potential unlocked by circular approaches. Under the Turkish Presidency, the issue of “Zero Waste” was elevated to a top priority of the Action Agenda, an unprecedented signal that material flows and climate outcomes are regarded as inextricably linked.

This side event brings past, current and future COP Presidencies together with researchers who have built the evidence base, with private sector actors who are already implementing practical solutions, and think tanks that translate scientific findings into concrete policy pathways. Our aim is to connect the political priorities defined by the Turkish Presidency with the technical and economic feasibility that science, business and civil society have already demonstrated.