In the margins of the fifth UN Environment Assembly, the EU, teaming up with the United Nations Environment Programme and in coordination with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, launched the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE), one of the deliverables of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan.
“The transition to a resource-efficient, clean and circular economy is increasingly recognised as a must to address the ecological crises the world is confronted with,” said Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius. “The circular economy offers opportunities for spurring innovation and making the transition more equitable by creating green jobs and lowering environmental impacts. With today’s launch of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency, the EU shows its commitment to work on those matters globally.”
Bringing together governments and relevant networks and organisations, GACERE aims to provide a global impetus for initiatives related to the circular economy transition, resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production. It will build on efforts being deployed internationally and put the EU at the forefront of the green transition. Eleven countries (Canada, Chile, Colombia, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda and South Africa) and the EU have joined the Alliance to date.
“Circularity and sustainable consumption and production are essential to deliver on every multilateral agreement, from the Sustainable Development Goals to the Paris Agreement to the post-2020 global biodiversity framework that we must agree on soon,” added Inger Andersen, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme. “They are essential to a sustainable recovery from the pandemic.”
“We will have a promising solution in our hands to safeguard and protect the natural wealth of our planet from climate, biodiversity, ocean and land degradation catastrophes and address the ambition of developing countries for inclusive and sustainable industrialisation if we choose a path to a circular economy and make this transition just,” commented LI Yong, Director General of UNIDO. “This will also enable economic prosperity, business opportunities, innovations and green jobs.”
The run-up to UNEA5 also saw the launch of a synthesis report, co-funded by the EU, Making Peace with Nature, which brings together findings of a number of global scientific assessments that look at the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises together. According to the report, the world can transform its relationship with nature and tackle the climate, nature and pollution crises together to secure a sustainable future and prevent future pandemics. The report also stresses that COVID-19 recovery plans are an unmissable opportunity to invest in nature and reach net zero emissions by 2030.