Circular economy solution pathways in the seventh UN Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7)

Abstract

The global environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation and pollution and waste, undermine current and future socio-economic development and stability of natural systems. With the seventh edition of its flagship assessment Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7), the United Nations Environment Programme has presented a solutions-oriented assessment to address the global environmental crises through the intertwined transformations of five key systems, namely the economic and financial, materials/waste, energy, food and environment systems. Embracing the concept of circularity achieves impactful synergies across the systems and contributes to overcoming inefficient and wasteful use of resources. While circularity as a key principle is integrated in the whole report, one of the chapters looks explicitly at solution pathways for transformation towards circularity and proposes 36 actions, structured into five solution pathways. Most importantly, a focus on the following is needed to make the solution pathways actionable: (1) Designing out waste from production and consumption (e.g. in energy, food and water systems); (2) shifting investments to deliver circularity in the economy, production and consumption; (3) developing effective markets for secondary materials; (4) creating a transparent global trade system for circular goods and services; (5) inclusive societal transformation towards sustainable lifestyles.