Becoming more resilient and competitive

The EU faces a number of challenges that threaten its present and future well-being. These include dependence on imports of raw materials and fossil fuels, price volatility, climate change, environmental damage and the threat of deindustrialisation. To maintain the EU's social cohesion, prosperity, resilience and competitiveness, and to make its economy more resilient to climate change, the EU needs to reduce waste generation and import dependency. It also needs to improve the secure supply of materials and products that are essential for the transition to a low-carbon economy in all sectors of the economy. The circular economy, together with improved energy efficiency and a shift away from fossil fuels, could provide synergistic and sustainable solutions to these challenges. The University of Cambridge, the Wuppertal Institute, the Taskforce for Climate Neutral and Circular Materials and Products, the Corporate Leaders Group Europe (CLG Europe) and the We mean business coalition have dealt with this in the study "No time to waste: Driving the EU's resilience and competitiveness through a circular economy".