Side Event COP27: Circularity Gap Report for Latin America and the Caribbean 'Establishing a regional baseline for the Circular Economy'

When: November 11, 2022, from 9:30 to 10:15 am (local time Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt).

Watch the Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPJ87e_brUkVIdJVoXAL8bQ/streams

Objective

The objective of this side-event is to present and discuss the methodology to develop the Circularity Gap Report (CGR) for LAC, which will establish a baseline on circular economy for the LAC region and will bring an understanding of the key sectors, materials, and kinds of strategies that should be prioritized to achieve a circular economy.  The report will allow the region to be compared with other geographies and will be the first to gather data on the circular economy in LAC.  This event is co-organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Strategic Partners of the Circular Economy Coalition for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

About the Circular Economy Coalition

Its objective is to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy in the region, providing a regional platform to enhance inter-ministerial, multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation, increasing knowledge and understanding on circular economy and providing capacity building and technical assistance for project implementation and the development of public policies. The Coalition is led by government representatives from 4 countries, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. 10 strategic partners support the Coalition: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), World Economic Forum (WEF). UNEP, through its regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, holds the coordinating role. 

About the need for a common baseline

The need to establish a common baseline and to measure the advancement towards a circular economy in the region was raised in the vision’s consultation process. ECLAC, IDB, IDB Invest, and UNEP are joining efforts to develop the first Latin American Circularity Gap Report with the support of Circle Economy. This endeavour serves not only to establish a baseline but also to 

• enable national stakeholders in Latin American countries to better understand the key sectors, materials, and kinds of strategies that should be prioritized to achieve a circular economy
• establish a valuable benchmark for measuring relative performance between countries in the Latin American region and with the rest of the world
• Obtain further insights on inter-regional trade, industrial specialization and transition, collective resource management and economic resilience.
• Identify the impact of the transition to a circular economy on job creation and the reduction of GHG emissions. 

Organisers: