A part of the dialogue in the recent COP26 touched upon how EU Cities and regions can work together to reduce their carbon footprints. On 6 November ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, ACR+ and HESAM University, organized the COP26 session ‘Circular economy & local governments: sustainable resource management to mitigate climate change’. The session aimed to give a better understanding on why we have to shift from a linear to a circular economic model if we are to tackle climate change effectively, and pointed out the variety of levers available to local and regional governments to bring about this transition.
The session gathered a number of key voices in the circular transition, highlighting how EU cities and regions are making steps to reduce carbon footprint in several key sectors by implementing ambitious, yet feasible waste prevention policies and supporting the shift towards sustainable consumption and production.
Arno Bonte, vice-Mayor of Rotterdam presented the aims and objectives of the Circular Cities Declaration (of which Rotterdam is a signatory) noting that “being a member of international networks of sustainability frontrunners like the CCD and ICLEI helps get your policy goals into practice”, adding that it has become easier for Rotterdam to get EU funds and to find other cities to partner up with, since signing the CCD. This signals that Rotterdam is taking the circular economy seriously.
Iain Gulland, CEO of Zero Waste Scotland and president of ACR+ presented the More Circularity, Less Carbon campaign, which helps ACR+ members asses their total carbon impact of their waste, based on the Scottish Carbon Metric. “We need to highlight not just the impact of waste, but also the impact of consumption. Over 50% of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from the consumption, production and wasting of materials.”
MS Stéphanie Modde, VP for Ecological Transition: Energy, Biodiversity, Food, Circular Economy & Water at Burgundy-Franche-Comté Region (FR), introduced the COLOR CIRCLE project from the Interreg Europe programme aiming to improve regional policies by sharing local good practices between 6 European partners. This includes local authorities (Burgundy-Franche-Comté Région and the Diputación de Granada in Spain), universities (HESAM Université, the lead partner, and Van Hall Larenstein University in the Netherlands), and regional development agencies (ADR Centru in Romania and SIC in Czech Republic). Color Circle focuses on circular economy and innovative cooperation between universities and local governments.
The above mentioned presentations were followed by a panel discussion with vice-Mayor Bonte, Niina Ruuska (Circular Turku Programme Manager), and Emanuela Manca, representing the Environmental Protection Directorate of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. The panel was moderated by Francesco Lembo, managing director of ACR+. The panelists discussed how their cities and regions are enacting circular economy policies, the links between climate change and circular economy and how Europe can help cities and regions implement circular economy and climate change policies.
Manca argued for participatory approaches that leave no one behind, while Ruuska noted that in CCD signatory Turku the circular economy is strongly embedded in the strategies of the Municipality and has strong political support. Finally, Vice-Mayor Botne highlighted the Rotterdam Climate Agreement, an initiative developed by the city in cooperation with market parties and other organisations.
During the session many links relevant for circular economy practitioners were shared in the chat:
• Rotterdam Circular
• Rotterdam Climate Agreement
• More Circularity, Less Carbon
• The carbon impacts of the circular economy
• Sardinia’s sustainability strategy
• Circular Turku
• Turku: 1,5 degree lifestyles campaign
• COLOR CIRCLE
The full session can be viewed on YouTube.