Source: A Rocha

Resource use continues to rise as ‘circularity gap’ fails to shrink

Nations are failing to tackle the rising demand for materials & goods in favour of focusing more narrowly on reducing the use of fossil fuels, that’s according to the latest research from Circular Economy. In its annual report on the state of global material use, the organisation has found that annual resource use grew from 89.8 billion tonnes in 2016 to a staggering 100 billion tonnes in 2019. Since then, it is estimated to have grown further over the course of the pandemic, reaching an estimated 101.4 billion tonnes last year. Further, as of 2020, Circle Economy found that almost all materials extracted go to waste, with just 8.6% recycled- termed the ‘circularity gap’. This is down from 9.1% in 2018.

“Humanity has now breached two major milestones: the world is consuming 100 billion tonnes (Gt) of materials, and it is 1-degree warmer.” – Circular Economy.^[i]

Climate targets at risk without a switch towards a circular economy

Circular Economy argues that without change, the current path along a ‘linear economy’ will drive the world towards a 3-6 degree temperature increase. Further, they argue that continuing on such a course will see the emission of 65 billion tonnes of Green House Gas Emissions (GHGs) in 2030.[ii] The research highlights the urgency required to tackle the mounting demand for resources; however, it also offers hope- it estimates that if the economy were more circular, and resource extraction and consumption could be reduced by as little as 28%, then the world could meet the Paris warming target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

However, this issue will likely fall into the hands of individual governments; it will require policy changes to drive a switch towards the reuse and recycling of materials rather than allowing continued pilfering of raw materials.

References

[i] English - CGR Global 2021 - Executive Summary.pdf - Google Drive

[ii] CGR 2021 (circularity-gap.world)

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