The latest edition of the Circularity Gap Report by Circle economy, an Amsterdam-based non-profit organisation, has been published. Unfortunately, what emerges is not good news, it turns out that to date only 7,2% of the global economy is circular and this figure is decreasing over time, in 2018 it was 9,1% and in 2020 8,6%.
Every year 100 billion tonnes of materials are consumed, with a forecast by 2050 where it is expected that the extraction and use of material resources will be double those used in 2015.
Of these 100 billion tonnes, only 7,2 per cent are fed back into the global economy at the end of their useful life.
According to the Circularity Gap Report 2023, construction, food systems, mobility and transport, and consumer products are responsible for the majority of global emissions and waste.
Construction is responsible for about 40 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The food system including agriculture, is responsible for one third of global GHG emissions, of which 8-10% is related to lost and wasted food production and 70% of global withdrawals of accessible fresh water. Mobility and transport are among the main causes of climate change and ocean acidification, responsible for about 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Industrial and consumer goods involve two main factors: the scale of production (and consumption) and the production processes themselves. Consumer goods refer to a wide range of products and materials, such as steel (and other metals), paper and cardboard, chemicals, textiles and plastics, which account for about one third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The Dutch NGO says that the application of a circular economy model could save 21 billion tonnes of virgin raw materials. For this there is, however, a need to push the accelerator in the creation of a market for recycled materials, accompanied by a new consumption model inspired by 4 key principles: use less, use more, use again and use circular materials free of hazardous substances.

Source and image: circularity-gap.world

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