Michael Brunn

There is a broad consensus that a circular economy is a good approach to solving numerous problems such as high material consumption and the associated environmental impact. Many countries have also long since taken appropriate measures. Nevertheless, progress is slow. This could be remedied by the increased use of economic instruments. They can provide incentives and help to achieve political goals more efficiently than with regulation. The OECD Environment Working Paper "Economic instruments for a resource-efficient circular economy" provides an overview of economic instruments that are used today.

In the EU, about half of all scrap tires are incinerated. This is not only to change as quickly as possible, according to the European Commission. The European recycling association Euric already has concrete proposals on how this can be achieved.

The recycling industry is an indispensable part of a sustainable circular economy. It makes a significant contribution to conserving resources, reducing CO₂ emissions and minimizing the ecological footprint of industry and society. At the same time, the industry poses a variety of work-related hazards for employees. Occupational health and safety therefore plays a central role in the health and safety of employees.

The chemical industry is dependent on the carbon contained in its products. Today, the fossil share is 90 to 95 percent. In the future, this must be replaced by renewable sources such as biomass, CO₂ and recycling. The study "Is there Enough Biomass to Defossilise the Chemicals and Derived Materials Sector by 2050?" by the Nova Institute in cooperation with Euro-ARE Agricultural Policy Research and the Thünen Institute of Forestry on behalf of the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) and the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) investigated the share of biomass that can reach by 2050.

The textile sector plays an important role in the European Commission's circular economy plans. The European Environment Agency (EEA) provides an overview of the current state of the industry.

Steel is one of the most important raw materials and will remain so for the foreseeable future. At the same time, the steel industry is also a major emitter of CO₂. Significant efforts must be made to achieve climate neutrality in the industry. Researchers at Curtin University (Australia) have investigated how climate neutrality can be achieved by 2050 in the article "Global steel decarbonisation roadmaps: Near-zero by 2050". The article was published in "Environmental Impact Assessment Reviews".

The EU Emissions Trading System is the main policy tool for managing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation and industrial installations in Europe. The iron and steel industry is the industrial sector with the highest absolute CO₂ emissions. The sector plays an important role in value creation and employment in the EU-28 and induces significant intra-EU and international trade. In its report "Development of the iron and steelmaking sector under the EU ETS", the Oeko-Institut examined the sector on behalf of the German Environment Agency.

What could a sustainable Europe look like in 2050? Using four fictitious scenarios, the European Environment Agency (EEA) wants to show in which direction things could go and what is necessary to achieve this.

According to Plastics Recyclers Europe, the European plastics industry, including recyclers, is in a massive crisis. In the paper "Securing a future for circular plastics in Europe", the association proposes a series of measures.

Alongside proven solutions for mechanical plastics recycling, Coperion realizes plants for chemical plastics recycling. This process converts plastic waste back into high-quality raw materials, potentially making unlimited recycling possible. So far, the process is energy intensive and does not always result in high-quality products. Using catalysts could play an important role in the continued improvement of end product quality and process efficiency.