Transitioning to a Circular Economy: The Future We Cannot Afford to Delay

By Marcos Neto Reprint | | Print |

Marcos Neto is UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.

Philippines ranks among the top contributors of marine litter in Asia. By transitioning to a circular economy, the country is fighting plastics pollution and climate crises. Photo Credit: Jilson Tiu / UNDP Philippines
 
The World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF2025) will take place at São Paulo, Brazil, from 13 to 14 May 2025. In addition, accelerator sessions will be held by WCEF collaborators on 15 and 16 May, online and around the globe.

NEW YORK, May 12 2025 (IPS) - From environmental degradation to biodiversity loss and mounting waste, we are facing the dire consequences of a reckless economic model that extracts, consumes, and discards. But there is an urgent alternative—one that is not just possible, but essential.

The circular economy is more than an environmental fix; it’s a smarter, more resilient strategy for sustainable development. It has the power to revolutionize how we produce, consume, and thrive within the planet’s limits. This could be the most critical economic transformation of our era.

Today, our global economy remains overwhelmingly linear: we extract, consume, and discard. As a result, we generate more than 2 billion tonnes of waste annually, a figure projected to rise to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. Meanwhile, resource extraction has tripled since 1970, driving 90% of biodiversity loss, and 55% of all greenhouse gas emissions. It is responsible for 40% of particulate matter health related impacts, driving us to exceed safe planetary boundary limits beyond which current and future generations cannot continue to develop and thrive.

The current system is not only unsustainable but also unraveling the very foundation of development.

Circular economies grow by reducing resource use. They focus on reusing, regenerating, and minimizing waste in all sectors, like agriculture, energy, and consumer goods. This ensures a fair transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future. Switching to a circular model could bring $4.5 trillion in economic benefits by 2030, cut emissions, create stable jobs, and open new green markets.

To realize this future, five interconnected changes must be implemented immediately.

1. Policy leadership to shift the economic paradigm. Governments and partners must enact bold policies and regulations that move markets from linear to circular. For example, by integrating circular economy measures into their national climate plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). NDCs and NBSAPs are sovereign, politically-backed tools that can serve as investment plans – helping not only lower greenhouse gas emissions but also restore and protect ecological systems and drive sustainable development priorities.

Other regulatory measures are instruments such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) and standards to ensure that products are durable, repairable, recyclable and safe. In Viet Nam, the Government has integrated circular economy principles into national policies, with the promulgation of a National Action Plan on Circular Economy, the promotion of eco-design as well as EPR mechanisms for electronics, plastics, textiles, and science and technologies for agriculture.

2. Data and metrics to guide decisions. Many countries lack sufficient data needed to advance a circular economy transition. We need better quality data – more robust, complete, and consistent – to track progress, align incentives, and inform policy. With better quality data, we can assess, prioritize, and monitor circular interventions for greater impact. For this, a stronger case needs to be made for a global baseline on material use in line with work led by the International Resource Panel and findings from the Global Environment Outlook.

In the Dominican Republic, the Rescate Ozama (“Rescue the Ozama”) project conducted extensive research on plastic pollution in the Ozama River, collecting data on waste types, volumes, and local management practices to support informed decision-making and develop targeted interventions.

3. Incentives that reward circular innovation. Financial systems need to recognize, incentivize, and reward circular business models—from the development of bio-based materials to reverse logistics. Such incentives have a direct impact on the investment and policy decisions made by both public and private sector stakeholders engaged in productive sectors, key to circularity.

In Serbia, the ‘Circular Communities’ project, with the support of UNDP, awards grants to innovative ideas that contribute to the development of national and local circular economy strategic frameworks. More than 60 innovative initiatives were supported in the last 3 years, ranging from producing interior design materials from waste glass to involving informal waste pickers in the film industry’s waste management.

4. Infrastructure for circular ecosystems. Continued investment is needed in infrastructure. This includes more convenient reuse, refill and repair logistics, more reliable waste collection and sorting facilities, safer and more effective recycling plants, and renewable energy systems. With this infrastructure, circular systems can become more viable and scalable. Without the physical systems to support reuse, recycling, and regeneration, however, circular principles will remain theory rather than practice.

In many developing countries, the lack of infrastructure remains a major barrier, with over 2 billion people without access to basic waste collection. To address such challenges, India’s Plastic Waste Management initiative is developing a replicable model for cities that integrates innovation, social inclusion, and environmental leadership to reduce waste, enhance resource efficiency, and establish closed-loop recycling systems through Material Recovery Facilities.

5. A cultural shift toward regenerative consumption. Citizens must become active agents of change—buying less in contexts of over-consumption and reusing more. This requires not only transparency about a product’s contents but also traceability of where materials are extracted and products are made, under what conditions, and by whom. Studies have identified over 13,000 chemicals associated with plastics, many of which are known to be harmful to human health and the environment. Greater transparency can empower not only policymakers but also consumers to make more informed decisions. Education and awareness are as crucial as infrastructure and investment incentives.

These shifts are not abstract ideals: they are already taking root, often led by countries in the Global South demonstrating bold vision and practical solutions. In fact, Indigenous Peoples have implemented circular solutions for millennia, whereby nothing is discarded but instead embraced as raw material for the next cycle of growth and renewal, drawing on lessons from ‘nature’s economy’.

This month, the World Circular Economy Forum 2025 will gather forward-looking thinkers and doers and present the game-changers in the circular economy sphere in São Paulo, Brazil. Not only to reflect on progress and share best practices and experiences but to forge the partnerships that will carry this vision forward. We stand at a crossroads: a throwaway economy on one side, and a circular, inclusive, resilient future on the other. Let us choose wisely. The future is not linear—and neither is the path to a better world.

WCEF2025 is organized jointly by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), CNI (Brazilian National Industry Confederation) and SENAI-SP (Brazilian National Industrial Learning Service), in close collaboration with international partner organizations, including United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Free of charge, open to all online.

IPS UN Bureau

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