Circulation or collapse

The United Nations' Global Environment Outlook 7 describes the environmental crises of our time with unusual clarity, assigning a key role to the circular economy. Waste, materials and material flows no longer appear as marginal issues of environmental policy, but as central lev-ers for climate, resource and biodiversity protection. The article classifies the core messages of the report and shows why high-performance material and waste systems are becoming the strategic infrastructure of a sustainable economy.