Synergies and trade-offs in the transition to a resource-efficient and circular economy
The world's raw materials consumption is expected to nearly double by 2060. This is
particularly alarming because materials extraction, processing, use and waste management
lead to significant environmental pressures. A circular economy aims to transform
the current linear economy into a circular model to reduce the consumption of finite
material resources by recovering materials from waste streams for recycling or reuse,
using products longer, and exploiting the potential of the sharing and services economy.
This paper underlines the synergies policy makers can create between different resource-efficient
and circular economy transition objectives when designing policy packages. It also
highlights potential trade-offs that may arise in their implementation. The paper
shows that the existing OECD policy analysis provides a toolkit for governments to
take more ambitious actions toward a resource-efficient, circular economy. In addition,
OECD modelling studies project that the transition can bring significant environmental
gains while preserving economic growth and social objectives.
Available from December 20, 2022
In series:OECD Environment Policy Papersview more titles