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Circularity for Resilience and Jobs: Green Recovery Policies Are The Global Opportunity Today
July 14, 2021 @ 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
When: 14 July, 2021 | 7:30h – 9:00h EDT l 13:30h – 15:00h CEST I 18:30h – 20:00h ITC
Where: Online, register here
An online UNEP-UNIDO panel discussion with leaders from key countries and international institutions.
The COVID-19 crises is linked with nature loss and shrinking habitats. And it comes on top of the triple crises we already face: our climate is in serious trouble, nature and biodiversity are in accelerating decline, and humanity’s toxic trail of pollution and waste is growing. Our unsustainable consumption and production is the core driver of these crises. Recovery policies implemented today offer the opportunity to restore, reset and rebalance our most important relationship with nature by addressing the causes of unsustainable consumption and production. A carefully managed transition to circularity will be critical to deliver on the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and the biodiversity and pollution agendas. It will be essential to recover from the pandemic and to lift people out of poverty, while staying within planetary boundaries.
The event will discuss the alignment of current recovery packages with SDG 12 goals and explore good examples opportunities. The event aims to conclude with the most important global steps to scale up circular economy for a sustainable future. Our panel of international leaders and experts will discuss the questions that matter, like:
- What are the biggest opportunities we are currently missing for an inclusive, green recovery? Where are we right now, are we on / off track and what more needs to be done?
- In which sectors and value chains will we generate the biggest impact for resilience, jobs, and a pollution-free planet? Where are the biggest gains to be had, and what are the leverage points?
- What are the barriers and incentives that need to be addressed? From a policy and finance perspective, what do we need to do differently? What incentives and economic policies are needed? And how can we make this happen?
Invited Panelists
- Mr. Carlos Eduardo Correa, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia
- Ms. Barbara Creecy, Minister for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa
- Mr. Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Thailand
- Ms. Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director
- Ms. Sara Mariani, Chief Sustainability Officer, OTB
- Mr. Stephan Sicars, UNIDO, Managing Director of the Directorate of Environment and Energy
Moderated by: Pilita Clark, Financial Times, environment correspondent
Resources
1. The SDG 12 Hub
The SDG 12 Hub is a one-stop-shop for governments, businesses, civil society and the public for tracking progress on the achievement of Goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.
The SDG 12 Hub will be/is launched on the 7th of July during the HLPF. Click here to watch the launch event and to learn more about the SDG 12 Hub.
2. The Global Recovery Observatory
The Global Recovery Observatory brings transparency to global government spending during the COVID-19 crisis. The Observatory tracks and assesses every individual COVID-19 related fiscal spending policy announced by the 50 leading economies for potential impacts on the environment and the socio-economy. The intent is to showcase exemplary policy solutions, identify lost opportunities and direct governments towards more impactful and sustainable fiscal spending. But so far countries are missing the opportunity to use recovery spending for greening the economy. The Global Recovery Observatory indicates that only 20% of the announced recovery spending, or USD 409 billion, was positive for the environment.
3. The Value Chain approach & its application to food, construction and textiles
The value-chain approach anchors natural resource use and environmental impacts within the socio-economic reality of production and consumption, and uncovers actionable insights on how the management of resources is connected with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By applying a systems lens, the value-chain approach identifies the drivers and barriers that cause the value chains of different sectors to operate as they do, taking into account the complex drivers and feedback loops that determine and influence the operations and behaviors of actors along the value chain.
The Value Chain approach drives the engagement alignment of policy makers, private sector, SMEs, academia, and consumers towards a common objective, and underpins partnerships to align action in the transition towards sustainability and circularity.
4. Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE)
Bringing together governments and relevant networks and organisations, the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE) aims to provide a global impetus for initiatives related to the circular economy transition, resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production, building on efforts being deployed internationally. GACERE members will do so by working together and advocating at the political level and in multilateral fora, in particular at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) and in G7/G20. GACERE members currently include: Canada, Chile, Colombia, EC on behalf of the EU, India, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, South Africa, UNEP and UNIDO. Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland have joined GACERE as observers. Three strategic partners are contributing to the work of GACERE: the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Platform for Accelerating Circular Economy (PACE) and the Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA through its World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF).
Further resources:
1. SCP HAT: This tool provides three modules (1. Country profile, 2. Hotspot Identification, 3. National data system) to analyse hotspot areas of sustainable consumption and production.
