Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of Emirates Green Building Council explains the concept of circular economy and how the UAE's embracing it to contribute to the nation's sustainability goals.
GCC countries can save almost $138 billion by 2030 if they adopt a circular economic model, corresponding to nearly 1 percent of the region’s cumulative GDP between 2020 and 2030, according to new research.
The report, published at the World Government Summit, claimed that under the prevalent linear economic model, the region is depleting its resources at an accelerated rate, generating unprecedented waste and emissions that are causing enormous social, economic and environmental damage.
It said a circular economy is a holistic solution that seeks to enhance the value and productivity of material resources, and minimize any value leakage in order to have a positive economic and environmental effect.
The concept derives its inspiration from nature’s biological and technical cycles by creating a closed loop material cycle.
The report, developed in collaboration with the World Government Summit and the Ideation Centre, the think tank for Strategy& Middle East, said the GCC should target its construction sector which produces 35 to 40 percent of the waste in the region, compared to 25 to 30 percent in the EU, leading to potential benefits of more than $23 billion between 2020 and 2030.
It added that considerable economic, social, and environmental value can be generated through a circular model in mobility by reducing congestion, traffic accidents, and fuel consumption, along with the costs associated with them. A circular mobility model could generate cumulative benefits in the GCC of $69 billion from 2020 to 2030.
