Event: "The circular economy as a cross-sectoral strategy for sustainable development"

Santiago, March 29, 2023

The circular economy has been gaining more and more relevance worldwide, especially due to its cross-cutting nature of economic sectors. The transition towards a circular economy entails a profound change in the way in which production and consumption are produced, as well as the development of economic models that make it possible to create value in a sustainable manner.

The objective of the event was focused on updating the state of the art of the implementation of the circular economy in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, presenting studies and initiatives from the region in different sectors. During the event, learning experiences were presented in relation to the development of policies and implementation of technologies, as a kickoff to open the dynamics of the project aimed at encouraging regional efforts in this area, which contribute to the fulfillment of global decarbonization goals. .

The opening session of the event was carried out by Joseluis Samaniego, Director of ECLAC’s Division of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements, who commented that the circular economy is a way of transforming our systems, to face the problems derived from the current development model , which is why it is identified as a strategy with the potential to reduce environmental impacts, close social gaps and generate economic growth. In turn, Samaniego added that in LAC, progress is already being made in the transition towards the circular economy, through regulations, plans and strategies, and that the success of this transition will depend on their alignment and the meeting between the public policy and technological change, so the articulation and cooperation between actors is important to accelerate progress towards the implementation of this concept.

For his part, Thomas Schmitt, Minister of the German Embassy in Chile, who accompanied the opening session, commented on the impact of the pandemic, causing a delay in global economic, social and environmental development. On this panorama, Schmitt added that the German Cooperation seeks to act collaboratively, together with ECLAC, focusing its priorities on recovery policies, and with just transition, towards more sustainable economic models. In this context, he added, in turn, that the circular economy acquires great importance, especially due to its transversal nature to the economic sectors, both in the region and in Europe, since through it CO2 emissions are reduced, it promotes economic growth and new jobs are created.

Based on this same welcome block, Ms. Jeannette Sánchez, Director of the Natural Resources Division, at ECLAC, added that the application of the circular economy paradigm makes it possible to improve efficiency in the use of materials, water and energy , with emphasis on the need to make a relative and absolute decoupling of the use of finite resources. Sánchez added about the existence of possibilities of application of this paradigm in several fields, where processes with a circular logic can be implemented, such as, for example, in mining, sanitation and energy generation. In this context, she added that good practices, norms and regulations are already emerging in the countries of the LAC region.

During the first day of the event (March 29), in part 1, three studies carried out by ECLAC were presented: the “Overview of circular economy roadmaps in Latin America and the Caribbean”; he “Modeling the macroeconomic effects of the transition to the circular economy in Latin America: the cases of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru”; and, “International trade and the circular economy in Latin America and the Caribbean”. In this same block of presentation of studies, the Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD) presented the document “Circular cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Towards a new paradigm for sustainable urban development”. With this panorama of studies, the importance of the circular economy paradigm is highlighted, and a broader vision of its implementation in the region is presented.

In the second part of the event, innovative initiatives for the implementation of the circular economy were presented in different sectors, such as mobility, lithium battery management, waste, plastics and sustainable construction. In the third part, representatives of ministries and institutions in Chile, Colombia, Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Uruguay commented on the advances in public policies and initiatives that are being implemented in their national and local contexts.

During the second day (March 30), in the fourth part of the event, dialogues were held with experts on the policies and technologies that are necessary to promote the implementation of the circular economy in the region, where international organizations, actors from the sector participated public, private, academia and unions.

This event undoubtedly contributed to highlighting the importance of implementing the circular economy in the region, putting the state of the art in context, both in research and in the strategies that countries and local governments are already adopting, as well as in the impulses that different sectors are activating so that changes can be generated towards a more sustainable development model.

We invite you to review the urban platform the live recordings of the event in Spanish, Portuguese and English, as well as the presentations of the speakersis and material that has been prepared in this framework.