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.

By Marcos Neto
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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Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are using digital tools and technologies for real and positive impact on their countries and communities. Credit: Ministry of Digital Transformation, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

By Marcos Neto and Robert Opp
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 21 2024 (IPS)

Small Island Developing States, or SIDS, have long been pioneers in international development, often compelled by the challenges they face. Positioned on the frontlines of climate change, they lead efforts in mitigation, adaptation, and advocacy, and despite their geographical dispersion, they are innovating approaches to resilience and sustainability.

SIDS are leveraging digital tools and technologies for real and positive impact on their countries and communities. They are leaders in internet gender parity, whilst a number perform strongly on global indices of cybersecurity. They are increasingly becoming Small Island Digital States.

This shift is reshaping the way people in SIDS live and work, facilitating connectivity, shaping new industries and opportunities, and ensuring that public services can reach even the most remote areas.

From the SIDS Global Data Hub in Antigua and Barbuda to the national digital strategies in the Cook Islands and Niue, to the Digital Pathway of Samoa, and substantial innovation efforts in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, the Maldives, and São Tomé and Príncipe, digital is positively changing lives and livelihoods.

Advocating for transformation

A whole-of-society approach to digital transformation is needed to benefit all facets of SIDS’ societies and economies. This involves placing people at the core of digital endeavours, shaping regulations to address digital harms, and fostering digital skills across society – particularly in relation to shaping future-looking skills and career foundations and pathways.

This also includes developing and retaining talent within the public sector. The collaborative efforts of government, private sector, and civil society are essential for a strategic and inclusive approach to deliver the potential of digital. A major upcoming report from UNDP – Small Island Digital States – identifies how SIDS can drive a whole-of-society approach founded on UNDP’s framework.

Through exploring the digital journeys of SIDS in this forthcoming report, it is clear that SIDS are increasingly recognizing the unique roles and strengths of each sector and ensuring that the benefits of digital reach all members of society. This includes the digital inclusion of remote and marginalized populations.

The involvement of young people, often hard to reach through traditional means, is paramount. They will be the digital leaders, innovators, and customers of the future. Recognizing this, a separate study of young people’s hopes, concerns, and aspirations will also be published soon by UNDP – leveraging a unique survey of 5,000 young people in SIDS, conducted via WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger.

Shaping Small Island Digital States

UNDP supports numerous SIDS on their digital transformation journeys, for example conducting comprehensive Digital Readiness Assessments in over 15 SIDS – and having positioned digital transformation as a key pillar of the UNDP ‘Rising Up for SIDS’ framework.

Our work in SIDS has reaffirmed the importance of understanding how to apply digital in the most useful way. This means we need to recognize that digital transformation is often rooted in analogue and offline foundations. Individual knowledge and skills to use technology safely and meaningfully are important.

Behavioural change is vital for sustainable digital adoption, requiring shifts in internal cultures and processes, including in leveraging approaches such as open source. Financing for digital entrepreneurs in SIDS can also not be overlooked, with local financing institutions often more familiar with tourism or real estate, and less clear about the potential of digital enterprises and entrepreneurs. And planning for the long term is imperative as the return on investment in digital is often not immediate.

SIDS governments and other innovators are building the political capital, buy-in, and momentum to deliver transformational change. Our Digital Readiness Assessments highlighted that nearly 60 percent of SIDS’ populations are keen to see even bolder digital efforts from their governments.

Charting the course

UNDP’s extensive digital work across SIDS, and the findings of these two reports, highlight that despite discussions often framing SIDS in terms of vulnerability and isolation, the digital realm is proving that SIDS are not just surviving; they are thriving.

Through leadership, adaptability, and the emergence of local digital ecosystems, they are demonstrating the transformative power of digital technologies. SIDS are actively engaging in public-private partnerships, leveraging civil society, and collaborating beyond their borders to advance digital objectives collectively.

Global collaboration across the SIDS community is already driving digital best practice. Many are sharing their digital knowledge, expertise, and learning – accelerating the digital journeys of fellow countries.

This collaboration is reshaping the SIDS discourse, showcasing that these countries are actively leading in digital expertise and exploration. SIDS are agile and moving quickly. As islands, they are exciting global beacons of digital innovation and demonstration. And they are swiftly evolving into Small Island Digital States.

Marcos Neto is UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support; Robert Opp is Chief Digital Officer, UNDP.

In April this year, the UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Sustainable Development will be launching two key reports as inputs into the discussions around the 4th International SIDS Conference. These reports will provide deeper findings and insights into how SIDS are becoming Small Island Digital States and into youth perspectives on digital technologies.

IPS UN Bureau

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