- Posted 14-Apr-2020
New Circular Economy Action Plan: stakeholder's consultation now open. Helping the environment and the COVID-19 economic recovery
The European Committee of the Regions' consultation on circular economy is open to all local and regional authorities and other key stakeholders until 1st of May 2020.
Annual waste generation from all economic activities in the EU amounts 2.5 billion tonnes. That is 5 tonnes per capita a year. Today, there is no comprehensive set of legal and policy requirements to ensure that all products placed on the EU market become increasingly sustainable and stand the test of circularity. That is the purpose of the European Commission's new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) presented on 11 March 2020.
The new CEAP includes a wide range of proposals. Amongst them is the extension of the Ecodesign Framework to the broadest possible range of products, boosting Green Public Procurement, setting up restrictions on the use of packaging materials, putting forward waste reduction targets for specific streams, harmonising separate collection systems and getting the much-expected common phone charger out in the EU market. The key target products are electronics, building and construction materials, vehicles and batteries, packaging, plastics and microplastics, textiles, food, water and nutrients.
Through a written stakeholders' consultation open until 1st May 2020, the European Committee of the Regions is now calling on all local and regional authorities in the EU as well as to stakeholders to share their views on the Commission's proposal and put forward their own views and suggestions.
The public consultation's working document is available here.
The main objective of the CoR's upcoming opinion is to develop the territorial pillar of the new CEAP and define the opportunities and challenges facing the EU's local and regional authorities across the expected policy actions.
In the context of COVID-19 and its impact on healthcare systems and the economy, rapporteur Tjisse Stelpstra draws attention to the EU's dependency on resources and enquires the lessons that we can learn and that will need to be considered when drawing economic recovery plans.
The CEAP's potential contribution to the post COVID -19 economic recovery is not to be underestimated as circular economy brings a wide range of new business opportunities. Circular economy jobs in the EU grew by 5% to reach around 4 million from 2012 and 2018 (EC).
Source: European Committee of the Regions News (https://bit.ly/2Vs6uuf)