The Council of Ministers has given the green light to the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy (EEEC) ― “Circular Spain 2030” ― which lays the foundations for overcoming the linear economy and promoting a new model of production and consumption, in which the value of products, materials and resources are maintained in the economy for as long as possible.
The Council of Ministers has given the green light to the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy (EEEC) ― “Circular Spain 2030” ― which lays the foundations for overcoming the linear economy and promoting a new model of production and consumption in which the value of products, materials and resources are maintained in the economy for as long as possible; in which the generation of waste is minimised and those whose generation could not be avoided are made the most of.
“Circular Spain 2030” sets objectives for this decade that will allow, among others, to reduce national consumption of materials by 30%, improve efficiency in the use of water by 10% and cut waste generation by 15% compared to 2010, which will make it possible to bring greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector below 10 million tonnes by 2030.
Its execution will be materialized through successive three-year action plans, which will include the specific measures to be developed by the General State Administration to implement actions in the circular economy in Spain. The first of them will be presented at the end of 2020 and will cover the period 2021-2023.
The Strategy is one of the key elements of the Circular Economy Framework, one of the Government’s projects that aims to be a lever for economic recovery after the COVID-19 health crisis. Together with it, the Executive has today approved the draft Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils that will also address the challenge of single-use plastics, and a royal decree that improves the traceability and control of waste shipments.
At the national level, the adoption of the EEEC was foreseen in the Declaration of Climate and Environmental Emergency approved in January 2020, which includes it among the priority lines of action, and is consistent with the draft Climate Change and Energy Transition Law, which sets a goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest.
In addition, it is linked to the main international initiatives in environmental matters, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as with the postulates of the European Green Deal and the two Action Plans of the European Commission in this area.
The strategy thus contributes to Spain’s efforts to achieve a sustainable, decarbonised, clean and resource-efficient and competitive economy. An approach consistent with making possible a fair and supportive transition towards a new model that promotes the protection of the environment and the transformation of the production system and, at the same time, progress, social well-being and gender equality.
Achieving the challenge of achieving the transition to the circular economy requires the collaboration, participation and involvement of society as a whole, not only Public Administrations but also all economic sectors ―manufacturing, production, distribution and waste management―, which must incorporate innovation as a key element for achieving the proposed objectives. In addition, the Strategy foresees that social agents and, especially, consumers and citizens will play a central role, whose product purchase decisions, as well as their commitment to waste separation, are fundamental.
OBJECTIVES
It is estimated that our country needs more than two and a half times its surface area to supply the needs of our economy. In addition to the environmental impacts that this entails, the data demonstrate the inefficiency of the model and the aggravated dependence on the outside, which make our economy more dependent and vulnerable and less competitive.
Spain Circular 2020 sets the following objectives for the year 2030:
• Reduce national consumption of materials by 30% in relation to GDP, taking 2010 as the reference year.
• Reduce waste generation by 15% compared to what was generated in 2010.
• Reduce food waste generation throughout the food chain: 50% per capita reduction at the household and retail consumption level and 20% in production and supply chains from 2020, thus contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Increase reuse and preparation for reuse to 10% of the municipal waste generated.
• Improve water use efficiency by 10%.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to below 10 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
SECTORS
Although the Circular Economy Strategy is cross-cutting, it identifies six priority sectors: construction, agri-food, fisheries and forestry, industrial, consumer goods, tourism and the textile and clothing sector. In particular, it is essential to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the circular economy to develop a Spanish industry focused on recycling.
In this framework, the challenge is to prepare the labour market for the transition to a circular and low-emission economy, both from the perspective of workers, adapting their skills and abilities to new market demands through active labour market policies, and from the perspective of companies and Public Administrations. adapting the business culture to the principles of corporate social responsibility, and guaranteeing health and safety conditions in the workplaces affected by the change to the circular economy.
In addition, it must be done in a way that allows companies to be efficient without incurring excessive burdens, improving their productivity, hiring capacity, investments and internationalization opportunities.
PRINCIPLES, LINES OF ACTION AND POLICIES FOR CHANGE
The general principles that inspire this Strategy are: protection and improvement of the environment; prevention; decarbonization of the economy; the “polluter pays” principle; health protection; rationalization and efficiency; cooperation and coordination between Public Administrations; public participation; sustainable development, solidarity between people and territories; integration of environmental aspects in decision-making; improvement of the competitiveness of the economy and generation of quality employment.
Taking into account these principles, eight main lines of action are established on which the policies and instruments of the Circular Economy Strategy and their corresponding action plans will be focused. Five of them are related to closing the circle: production, consumption, waste management, secondary raw materials, and water reuse. And the remaining three, of a cross-cutting nature: Awareness and participation, Research, innovation and competitiveness, and Employment and training.
Spain Circular 2030 points out, as key policies to advance in the circular economy, economic policy, taxation, employment, R+D+i, consumption, industrial, water, agricultural policy and development of rural areas.
ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL
The multidisciplinary and inclusive approach of the Strategy requires incorporating the perspective of the different Administrations and units so that it maintains a complete and transversal vision in the sectoral policies involved as well as of the social and economic agents In this way, the EEEC proposes an organisational model made up of several committees: an Interministerial Commission on Circular Economy, with representatives of the ministries concerned, which will be responsible for evaluating and making proposals on the policies and measures to be incorporated into sectoral policies, as well as monitoring and evaluating the successive action plans on the circular economy, and ultimately the Strategy; a working group within the Waste Coordination Commission, with regional and local representatives, as administrations with the power to complete the basic legislation and implement such measures; and a Circular Economy Council, as a space for public-private collaboration with all the economic and social agents and other sectors involved in the change of model.
The EEEC also includes a set of indicators to assess its degree of implementation, which correspond to those adopted at European level, given that it will be the framework with which our progress can be compared with respect to the rest of the Member States, to which is added the contribution of the waste sector to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
In short, España Circular 2030 is configured as a framework document that will allow our country to move towards a circular economy through the implementation of different action plans. This will allow that, as the different actions are executed, their effects will be evaluated and, where appropriate, the necessary adjustments can be made to achieve the objectives set out both in the action plans and, ultimately, in the Strategy for 2030.
