The Circular Economy Pathway for Pursuing 1.5°C

The Stanley Center will host a policy dinner on how circular economy strategies can make the Paris commitment to limit global warming to 1.5° C achievable. Circular economy strategies which address climate change, excessive resource extraction, and waste generation in parallel open a suite of economically viable mitigation options, which have received little attention so far. The dinner discussion will open with a presentation of new research and analysis from Jelmer Hoogzaad of Shifting Paradigms and Matthieu Bardout of Circle Economy.

Circular economy policies offer promise for significantly cutting the current greenhouse gas emissions gap towards the 1.5° C global warming limit. They have been embraced by some subnational actors, especially cities; however, they have not been examined in much detail for international policy development. This dinner will reveal new research and analysis on circular economy strategies for climate change, which explains the relation between global resource use, waste production, and greenhouse gas emissions, and provides examples of circular economy strategies with high mitigation potential. It will also discuss circular economy options in developing countries, circular economy for heavy industries, and entry-points in the international climate negotiation process, where the circular economy can act as a lever to increase ambition.