30% Less Material Use: Possible Solution to the Climate Crisis

The circular economy is a global imperative: it transcends geographical borders and requires cooperation between nations, organizations and stakeholders from different backgrounds. This key message was at the heart of the seventh Circular Economy Hotspot Summit this Thursday, a statement by the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH) says. It was announced there that BCSDH, together with its professional partners, had been awarded the hosting rights for the Circular Economy Hotspot 2026 European Meeting.

Global material use has more than tripled since 1970, while the Earth's population has only doubled. The extraction and processing of materials is responsible for 60% of the adverse impacts on climate, more than 90% of biodiversity and water stress associated with land use, and around 40% of particulate pollution, which is harmful to health, the statement points out.

"Our health and the health of our economy also depend on the health of nature, which in turn is in unprecedented decline. The negative impact of human activity on nature is becoming increasingly evident, and in addition to the climate emergency, we now face the clear threat of natural systems collapsing. In this context, it is in our common interest to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, as the reduction in consumption alone would solve many climate and ecological crises. But this requires cooperation, not competition, and joint commitments, benchmarks and actions. Immediate action is needed in this area too," BCSDH President Attila Chikán, Jr. said in his speech.

The circular index of global material use is getting worse. While in 2018, 9.1% of all raw materials used by the global economy came from recycled materials, this figure will be only 7.2% in 2024. Economy is still on an upward trajectory in material use, while society's needs could be met with 70% of the materials currently used. Such an increase in the level of circularity would have a significant impact on several ecological tipping points.

Ambassador Désirée Bonis of the Netherlands pointed out that "a paradigm shift in the way we manage raw materials is needed. The amount of raw materials we consume globally has more than tripled since the 1970s and is expected to double by 2060." She added that resilience to geopolitical changes in raw material supply must also be ensured. The Dutch National Circular Economy Program therefore aims to close material flows and make the country 100% circular by 2050, in line with the climate targets.

Today, the Circular Economy Platform has 102 members and was initiated by BCSDH, the Dutch Embassy and the then Ministry of Innovation and Technology. Its members highlighted knowledge sharing, collaboration and immediate action as the most important tasks.