The circular economy offers systemic perspectives and remedies for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate, biodiversity, and pollution, as well as pathways for inclusive development. However, inclusive circular economy approaches have yet to gain a strong foothold in the multilateral system. Stockholm+50 offers a unique opportunity to elevate circular economy solutions on the global development and environmental agendas.
Stockholm+50 is a global United Nations event taking place on June 2-3, which provides global leaders with an opportunity to draw on 50 years of multilateral environmental action to achieve the bold and urgent action needed to secure a better future on a healthy planet.
To accelerate and broaden the implementation of inclusive circular economy solutions, the need for a global vision and road map for a just and inclusive circular economy should be formally recognized at Stockholm+50, with commitments to initiate such a process thereafter.
Why globalize the circular economy?
The transition to a circular economy requires the reconfiguration of global value chains — no single country or company can do that alone. Due to the interconnected nature of value chains, any action taken domestically will affect others around the world. So coordination is required to ensure policies and initiatives are effective, but also to ensure low- and middle-income countries are not disadvantaged. Key areas where a globally inclusive transition cannot be realized without multilateral coordination include access to finance, policy coordination, data, and knowledge transfer.
In the context of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, the circular economy represents a systemic approach that can help deliver essential development needs by encouraging design for reuse, material recovery, and recycling, and ecosystem restoration and regeneration. It therefore represents a departure from the traditional linear production and consumption systems, with a wide range of potential co-benefits to multiple SDGs.
Aligning circular economy and SDG implementation will minimize trade-offs between environmental and social SDGs and support addressing basic human needs, livelihoods, and well-being.
A globally inclusive circular economy approach could also address the key priorities of Stockholm+50, including actions for recovery in key COVID-19-affected sectors and high-impact value chains such as food, energy, and manufacturing.
It would help ensure recovery investments are used to accelerate reskilling for the sustainability transition, including the required advances in clean technologies, especially in micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Just transition and environmental justice considerations are crucial to making the circular economy work for human development.
—Finally, it would help ensure that technology cooperation is scaled up to support LMICs in addressing the impact of the pandemic while achieving the SDGs.
A global circular economy road map
Governments across the world are beginning to set national plans, road maps, and targets for national circular economy developments, and companies are setting targets to achieve higher degrees of resource efficiency and reduction of waste and pollution through circularity.
Examples include the road map developed by Finland in 2015 or the Chilean Roadmap for a Circular Chile by 2040. On the regional level, for example, ASEAN adopted the Framework for Circular Economy for the ASEAN Economic Community. The African Circular Economy Alliance identified “Five big bets” for Africa’s path to circularity, highlighting the opportunities for increased circularity in key sectors that will support the economy, jobs, and the environment on the continent.
What is currently missing to leverage the benefits of the circular economy for global development priorities is a global road map for an inclusive circular economy. An inclusive road mapping process that brings together perspectives, experiences, and resources from the global south and global north will help engender trust and solidarity that is needed for the decade ahead.
A multilateral approach is required not only due to the interconnected nature of global value chains such as electronics, textiles, food, or automotives, but also to overcome barriers to circular economies that are common to all countries such as underdeveloped markets for circular goods and services, financing gaps for circular business models, and realizing the potential to create new jobs and decent work in the circular economy.
Just transition and environmental justice considerations are crucial to making the circular economy work for human development. Without addressing the human needs and social dimensions of the transition, the circular economy will not deliver on important social goals such as improved health, decent working conditions, or reduced inequality. One of the overarching objectives of the circular economy transition should be to reduce the pollution burden of the poorest in society, especially communities affected by mismanaged waste and degraded environments in LMICs.
Furthermore, the process involved in developing a global road map could help understand the potential distributional effects of the circular economy transition and design effective social protection policies both at the national level and internationally. Finally, it would seek to identify collective areas for action which help ensure alignment with science-based targets and goals outlined in SDGs on sustainable resource use and other global commitments such as the Paris Agreement.
Anchoring in existing multilateral initiatives
At the latest fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly that convened in March 2022, governments adopted a key resolution on global plastics treaty in which circular solutions will play a key role. Multilateral platforms and partnerships, such as the Global Alliance on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy, would be well placed to play a role in this effort, in cooperation with regional alliances such as the African Circular Economy Alliance and the Latin American and Caribbean Circular Economy Coalition.
Stockholm +50 offers a unique opportunity to galvanize multilateral support and action on leveraging the circular economy to deliver on global development and environmental agendas.
Stockholm +50 can engage new stakeholders from U.N. Major Groups including youth, Indigenous peoples or workers, and trade unions, and galvanize multilateral support and action. U.N. member states and wider stakeholders have the unique opportunity to unite behind the idea, initiate the process, and commit resources to ensure its full implementation to deliver on global development and environmental agendas. Thus, the circular economy road map could become a key legacy of the Stockholm+50 conference.
About the authors
Jack Barrie
Jack Barrie is a research fellow in the environment and society program at Chatham House. He specializes in the global transition to an inclusive circular economy. He is the project lead for Chatham House’s work on circular economy and trade and his current research focuses on identifying and understanding the intersections between the circular economy, international trade, global finance, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Patrick Schröder
Patrick Schröder is a senior research fellow in the environment and society program at Chatham House. He specializes in research on the global transition to an inclusive circular economy, with a focus on closing the investment gap and the contribution of circular approaches to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
