Michael Brunn

The European Parliament's draft report on the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation, currently discussed, raises serious concerns about its impact on circularity in the automotive sector.

The EU's gross domestic product (GDP) registered a 1.3% increase in the third quarter of 2024, compared with the same quarter of 2023. 

In some circles, chemical recycling is considered a silver bullet for the treatment of plastic waste. Peter Quicker from RWTH Aachen University and Mathias Seitz from Merseburg University of Applied Sciences have investigated the potential of thermochemical plastics recycling as part of chemical recycling on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency.

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".

Global efforts to phase out fossil fuels and reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement are falling short. While the first global stocktake at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP28) formally called for a phase-out of coal, oil and gas by 2023, most countries' energy and climate policies are not yet aligned with this goal. However, there are technical solutions that can speed up these efforts. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and KfW Research have published a report for the COP29 conference that highlights these opportunities - and points out that, above all, it is a question of money.

What impact will the European textile policy have on other countries? This question is addressed in the study 'Socioeconomic Impacts of European Union Circular Textiles Policies on Trading Partners' published by the global impact organisation Circle Economy, using the examples of Ghana and Bangladesh.

According to the European recycling association EuRIC, the ship recycling industry in Europe is facing major problems. The 'EU Recyclers' Manifesto: For a strong ship recycling sector in Europe' makes four proposals regarding how this can be changed.

The collection and recycling of post-industrial textile waste offers a great many opportunities. For example, it can have a positive impact on economic development, job creation and the environment. Driven by more than 520 regulations worldwide, the industry is moving towards a circular economy. In addition, technological advances in mechanical, thermo-mechanical and chemical recycling are becoming increasingly evident. However, despite these efforts, the industry is making slow progress. Less than one per cent of textile waste is still recycled into new fibres. The industry's recycling rate has fallen from 9.1 per cent in 2018 to 7.2 per cent in 2023. As textile consumption and the volume of waste continue to grow, the need for scalable solutions is more urgent than ever. The report "Upstream Circularity Playbook" published by Global Fashion Agenda aims to serve as a pragmatic guide and showcase examples of good practice for adopting and scaling circular practices.

The role that a circular economy can play in most areas of products and life has been sufficiently discussed. The defence sector has hardly played a role so far. In the position paper "Engaging with defence and security on the circular economy", CE-Hub, NICER Programme, University of Exeter and UK research and innovation have examined the role that the circular economy can play for the British defence sector.

Europe aims to become the first climate-neutral continent with a sustainable, fairer and more prosperous society that accepts planetary boundaries. However, the changes needed to achieve this goal could exacerbate existing inequalities and create new ones. A just transformation is therefore needed. The report "Just sustainability transitions — from concept to practice" published by the EEA examines how this is being addressed in current policies.