We must rewire our economy to tackle climate change

It’s been three years since the COP was held in the UK – when world leaders assembled in Glasgow to assess progress and agree important next steps to tackle climate change.

Now, as COP29 kicks off in Azerbaijan, you would be forgiven for asking: why aren’t we there yet?

There were high hopes for the 26th annual Conference of the Parties in 2021. In the lead-up, we saw countries across the planet share their lofty ambitions. Throughout the 12-day event, the enthusiasm was palpable. Surely a gathering of this magnitude, with attendees holding this much influence, could only conclude with a clear plan to tackle climate change?

Yet as the final delegates departed Glasgow, so too did a lot of the buzz. Despite some big wins in the climate justice space, there was an undeniable feeling that COP26 simply didn’t go far enough. Unfortunately, this argument has only gained traction since.

In the weeks following COP26, rifts around wealth and compensation for climate-related damage, between developed and developing nations, were exposed. In the years since, many governments have reneged on emissions targets and stepped back from plans with net zero potential in the face of more immediate financial pressures.

All the while extreme weather events have increased in frequency, becoming part of our daily headlines, with research showing climate change as the cause.

For too long, environmental responsibility and economic security have been considered mutually exclusive. This view reinforces an unsustainable economic model we have subscribed to for centuries where we take, make, and dispose of products with little thought and often after minimal use.

In the past six years alone we have extracted and used almost as many materials as over the course of the entire 20th century. This unrestrained consumption has pushed planetary boundaries beyond their limits, leading to heightened climate change, biodiversity loss, increased water stress, and rising pollution levels.

It’s time to admit that this ‘linear’ economy isn’t working. In fact, it’s in direct conflict with our climate ambitions and hopes for a fairer and healthier global society.

That might seem like a bleak admission – but it’s actually a real opportunity with monumental potential. Because if we rewire our economy, with circularity at its core, we can achieve the sustainable, and fair, future we all want to see.

For this, we need an economy where products and materials are kept in high-value use through reuse and repair, remanufacturing, and recycling – rather than disposed of to landfill or incineration, or exported as waste, before the end of their usable life; where circular businesses are valued and nurtured, helping them scale up, thrive, and do their bit to influence consumers to adopt more sustainable living and working practices; and where sustainable options aren’t the “alternative” but the easiest and most favourable choice for all.

Is this reality possible? Absolutely. It already exists and is known as the circular economy. The challenge is, we need the circular economy to become the economy.

This is why “rewiring the economy” is the golden thread of Zero Waste Scotland’s latest corporate plan. Within this dynamic blueprint, we set out our strategic vision for Scotland’s economy and outline the key steps we’ll take to mobilise this vital transformation.

At the heart of our call to action is a need for greater awareness of the benefits that a more circular approach could bring in tackling wider societal inequalities – not just in Scotland, but around the world.

Read Zero Waste Scotland’s Corporate Plan for 2024 to 2030 on the Zero Waste Scotland website

Businesses are essential to the change we want to see. Currently, most businesses in Scotland exist in a linear system that neither favours, nor encourages, the adoption of circular models; certainly not to an extent where they can compete, or thrive, effectively.

Our recent report, Scotland’s Circular Economy Practices Ecosystem: barriers to businesses being more circular, written in partnership with the University of Stirling, recognises this complex system of negative reinforcing “loops” which prevent businesses from making vital changes towards circularity – instead cementing them in their linear practices.

By identifying strategic interventions and creating a more supportive ecosystem, we can break free from these barriers and replace the negative reinforcing “loops” with positive ones, making circular principles the norm and resulting in sustainable growth across the economy.

We need to optimise and target support in high-impact sectors where we know there are as many economic benefits as environmental ones. This includes aligning the flow of materials and products, both in and out of the circular system, and ensuring widespread access to services such as reuse, repair, and reprocessing.

And we want to work at a place-based level, through partnerships with cities and regions, where bespoke local actions can have real tangible benefits to individuals and communities.

In short, there’s a crucial need to bring human activity back within planetary boundaries by reducing extraction, maximising the use of existing materials, and creating a more equal and just society for all. The solution lies in restructuring the current finance, skills, infrastructure, innovation, and governance landscape, so that we can mainstream the adoption of circular practices.

At Zero Waste Scotland we’ll achieve this by utilising our vast experience and valued partnerships to provide the know-how that can optimise the value of resources flowing into, and out of, the economy. We’ll do it by dismantling the obstructions that have hindered our economy’s circular potential for far too long. And we’ll help empower everyone – businesses, local government, people, communities, and beyond – to do their part to heal our planet.

Rewiring the economy is our only choice.

So, as COP29 kicks off halfway across the globe, let’s look closer to home at how we can enact economic change. Vital change that, at any scale, will ignite global transformation and, ultimately, save the planet.

Iain Gulland is Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, Scotland’s circular economy public body. Zero Waste Scotland works with government, business, and communities to rewire the economy from our current “take, make, waste” model to one where we make the most of the materials we have. A zero waste, circular economy is the right choice – for people, planet and prosperity.