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Circular Economy Solutions Dialogues

The Circular Economy Solutions Dialogues (CESD) advance the circular economy agenda and facilitate the initiative to disseminate green technologies globally and their contextualized application. The CESD are implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), within the Global Project Support of the Export Initiative for Green Technologies, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), in cooperation with the Global Solutions Initiative.

Call for Action
Reversing the Linear Path –
Circular Economy in the Roadmap for Global Recovery

The members of the Circular Economy Solutions Dialogues (CESD) Sounding Board, call for decisive action to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Call for Action is supported by Sounding Board members representing low-, middle- and high-income countries as well as international, local, public and private organizations. Read the full Call for Action here.

The members of the Sounding Board reviewed the significance of the circular economy agenda during Indonesia’s G/T20 presidency and found strong support for it. Several representatives led the conversation by highlighting key takeaways from various discussions held by the G/T20 Indonesia. The board also discussed its future activities and called on members to continually engage one another in meaningful activities and events.

Members expressed hope that Europe could become a forerunner of circular economy by setting global standards for trade integration, technology and knowledge transfer. While this means (more) local upstream regulations to establish global cooperation, members cautioned against an inflation of concepts..

Among the core messages, members highlighted that a whole-of-government approach to circular economics is critical. They also called for circular citizenship, where education plays an important role in influencing consumption preferences. 

Members also deliberated on the matter of ownership. They debated if transferring ownership from consumers to manufacturers would lengthen the end-of-life of the product. They also pushed for developments in new business models for leasing and sharing. Here, it was noted that new developments should include measures to protect consumers against disruption or termination of such services.

Members noted that current accounting principles are linear: real costs are not embedded in valuation practices. To eliminate this, they stressed the need for corporations to internalize their social and environmental costs. Guidelines for corporations should be also created to push for wage increase and improvement to quality of life, financed by savings from implementing circular practices.   

Members reiterated the importance of taking into account local differences when creating and implementing circular solutions. They also called for more practical tools to aid effective implementation of theoretically-orientated circular frameworks.

The meeting also reported on the past and future activities of the CESD series. It heard feedback and comments from members.

Members found that the increasing drive of companies for cost efficiency has led to highly branched global supply chains, as we observe today. They agreed that it was optimal to join forces and build momentum towards the inclusion of circular economy and resource efficiency as a solution into COP. 

The need for global and local Circular Economy Action Plans resonated with the members of the Sounding Board. Effective coordination between and among countries and regions, in particular via cross-border cooperation, was noted. Designs to facilitate flows of goods and services within cross-border circular economy chains should include cities and avoid piecemeal transformations. The members stressed the need to define circular economy pathways for developing countries and pathways for developed countries, subject to the nature of urbanization pathways.

 

Members of the CESD Sounding Board convened to discuss the implications of the current global health crisis in achieving circularity in global value chains. The members agreed that in the face of mounting pressure to adapt and increase financial profitability, businesses are finding it difficult to maintain their commitments to circular economy and sustainability goals.

The discussion rounded up with a call for action on two main areas. First, the members called on international and multilateral actors to join forces, convene and build momentum towards incorporating circularity in energy transition plans and climate change mitigation strategies. A refined analyses of the COP26 results and the G20/G7 recovery policies were identified as complementary processes. Second, there was resounding support for cross-border cooperation in the development of circular economy response plans. The Sounding Board members recognized that, while standardized response plans are not internationally operable, coordination and alignment are necessary to effectively embed circularity at the global and local levels of the supply chain.

India T20 CEEW-IRID Roundtable

Panel

Circular economy sessions at the Global Solutions Summit 2022

The growing imperative for a
circular economy

Community session: Circular economy and global value chains

Community session: Circular economy and the future of work

Sessions at the Global Solutions Summit 2021

Breaking up the linear economy in emerging countries

Localising the cirular economy imoerative in a post COVID-19 era

Circular economy session at the DBU’s Woche der Umwelt

Circular economy:
Perspectives from the Global South

Upcoming event(s)

Past event(s)

This event brought together stakeholders from local governments, city commissioners, businesses, think tanks and international organizations to discuss environmental protection and resource efficiency within cities and urban areas as drivers and implementers of circular economy. The event focused on three pillars: Understanding, Envisioning and Implementing and use interactive peer-learning formats. ... Read more
In the run-up to India’s T20 Inception Conference, to be held on 13-14 January 2023, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Indonesia Research Institute for Decarbonization (IRID), the Global Solutions Initiative, and the T20 Secretariat are hosting an official T20 Roundtable on ‘Finance, Technology, People & Partnerships: The Building ... Read more
If you are a business representative, work in international development cooperation, or are a national/subnational public authority in charge of economic framework conditions, this session is for you. This session will bring concrete illustrations from south-south and north-south cooperation, especially in Africa and Asia, to demonstrate how technology and new ... Read more
The two-day conference is intended to foster international cooperation and partnership between the partner countries of the Export Initiative and German technology and service providers. The conference creates a platform for global knowledge sharing and market exploration for green and sustainable development by bringing together international partners from private and ... Read more
Join us at the Circular Dialogue session “MIND THE GAP : from regulation to financing circular action”, happening on November 24, 2022, from 14:00 – 15:00 (Athens time). This session aims to stimulate a dialogue on improving institutional, industrial and financial leverage, inspired by the global findings generated through the ... Read more
This high-level event aims to bring together emerging ideas, practices, and policy pathways to accelerate the shift away from a take-make-waste model of resource use and pollution to a circular green recovery and the practical steps G20 economies could consider embedding circularity into their economies. Your intellectual insights and sharing of emerging experiences from you will guide policymakers in G20 economies and beyond to address the ... Read more

If you are interested to learn more or if you are working on research papers or policy briefs related to circular economy that you would like to share, contact yamunna.rao@global-solutions-initiative.org

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