Your Excellency Yerlan Nysanbayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
Ministers, colleagues and friends,
My thanks to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Ecology – in coordination with UNEP, SWITCH-Asia, the World Bank and FAO – for organizing this event on the circular economy at a time of enormous pressure on resources. And for hosting this important summit.
The way the world extracts, produces and consumes resources is not sustainable. It is not just that we are racing towards exhausting supplies of non-renewable resources, which we are. It is that the extraction and processing of material resources is responsible for over half of greenhouse gas emissions, up to 40 per cent of harmful particulate matter and up to 90 per cent of land use related biodiversity loss.
And global resource extraction is growing, projected to increase by 60 per cent by 2060 if we follow current linear models. Central Asia faces the same challenge. The population of this region is expected to approach 100 million by 2050, increasing demand for resources and infrastructure.
Given this context, a transition to a circular economy is the only sane and strategic economic response to avoid environmental disaster, supply chain volatility, systemic financial risk and more.
Friends,
Shifting to circularity can unlock new markets, job opportunities, economic value and systemic resilience.
Adopting circular models can strengthen business supply chain resilience, attract sustainability-oriented investors and meet growing consumer demand for low-impact goods. The International Resource Panel reminds us that with a shift to circular economy, we could have a global GDP three per cent larger than predicted and reduced economic equalities. Growth in material use could fall by 30 per cent. Greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by more than 80 per cent. The ILO estimates that a transition to a circular economy could create at least seven million additional jobs globally by 2030. Such results would be a huge win for people and planet.
Central Asia has started its transition from a linear to a circular economy to manage waste but must also move to new business models to redesign product and services, and so reduce growing waste and resource use. Governments can play a crucial role through fiscal and financial incentives, public procurement – which accounts for up to 30 per cent of GDP in developing countries – and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems at scale.
Public financial institutions are ideally positioned to support market creation, especially for SMEs and early-stage innovation.
There needs to be a focus on sectors like plastics, construction, electronics and agriculture. Please do note that the need for circularity also applies to minerals and metals, including those needed for the energy transition. Central Asia region holds a notable share of minerals:39 per cent of manganese ore, 30 per cent of chromium, 20 per cent of lead, 13 per cent of zinc and 9 per cent of titanium, among others.
Long-term resource efficiency and circular economy policies that maximize the lifespan of these minerals will be essential – specifically ensuring that systems are designed for repair, remanufacturing, recovery and recycling. Value created through circularity should benefit host economies and local communities through infrastructure developed near mining sites.
Friends, regional cooperation can accelerate the pace of the transition to circularity.
Policy coherence across nations is a strategic lever to embed circularity across the climate, nature and pollution agendas and back the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements. For example, UNEP has worked with partners to develop a regional harmonized certification for sustainable tourism in Central Asia, looking at energy efficiency, and reduction of single-use plastic and food-waste reduction.
Regional cooperation can foster a market-driven transition, if businesses share circular designs and practices and governments learn from each other on creating enabling conditions. UNEP and partners have a long trajectory of having created platforms to share experiences about the transition, including from initiatives such as such as the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency and regional alliances.
The proposed Framework for Partnership on Circular Economy marks a golden opportunity to form a regional partnership in Central Asia, joining other regional partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa. My thanks to Kazakhstan for the leadership in advancing this Framework, and to all five Central Asian nations for taking this important step in advancing their economies towards circularity. UNEP stands ready to support this important initiative together with other partners and stakeholders.
Thank you.
