About the Author(s)
Aatika Murtaza
Author has completed her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from International Islamic University, Islamabad. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Environmental Science from the National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad.
Today in this 21st century human beings are facing very serious challenges, one of them is climate change. Climate change is basically a phenomenon in which atmospheric changes take place which cause alternation of global ecosystems and biospheres slowly by natural processes. Climate change can be caused by natural processes but according to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change anthropogenic activities are the main cause of climate change as domestic, commercial and industrial activities cause emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) like methane, carbon dioxide (CO2) nitrous oxides etc. which play a vital role in changing climate globally. Human induced climate change is affecting many weather and climate extremes over the globe. According to IPCC Six Assessment Report (AR6) due to historical and on-going contributions from unsustainable energy use, land cover and land use changes, changing patterns of food production and consumption leads to continued emissions of global greenhouse gases that cause increase in global surface temperature of 1.1oC. The GHG emissions from industrial sector generates more concerns due to higher level of emissions of CO2. As a developing country although the contribution of Pakistan in the global greenhouse gases emission (GHG) is very small but the changing climatic conditions have very severe consequences for Pakistan. Extreme climate events are becoming more common and intense, glaciers are melting at very higher rate, more frequent floods and droughts, increased health risks, threats to coastal areas and increasing surface temperature has put the country at constant danger. According to the World Bank statistics, the 2022 devastating floods have caused more than 1700 deaths and displaced more than 8 million people including the economic losses of more than $30 billion because of damage to infrastructure, assets, crops and livestock. Similarly, extreme rains, lightning, and flash floods from April 12 to 21, 2024 devastated Pakistan, with KP and Balochistan suffering the most damage. In addition to injuring 94 persons, this tragic incident claimed 99 lives. Moreover, there were over 350 livestock losses, 220 other structures damaged, 464 schools, and over 3,500 residences (557 completely destroyed and 2,986 partially destroyed).
The increasing threat of Climate change, serious socio-environmental issues and depletion of natural resources made it necessary to change industrial processes in tandem sustainable lines. In this situation, circular economy is one strategy that emerged as a vital tool for addressing these particular issues. In opposite to linear economy, circular economy close the gap between the production and natural ecosystem’s cycle by reusing, repairing, reducing and recycling the existing materials and products as long as possible. It is an industrial system that replaces the end of life concept with shifting towards the use of renewable resources, elimination of waste and also exterminate the use of toxic chemicals. The several principles of circular economy includes attaining eco-designs, protecting and conserving natural resources, cutting down the use of non-renewable resources, the expansion of regional economy, minimizing negative effects of anthropogenic activities on the environment and health by reducing carbon emissions and encouraging the use of renewable energy, decreasing plastic packaging and the production of trash. These approaches of circular economy can be implemented to combat climate change, waste reduction, energy, buildings, transportation, sustainable production and consumption.
Circular economy aims to contribute in reducing environmental degradation and its effects on climate by using different principles, It is estimated that currently 70% of global greenhouse gases GHG emissions caused by the process of material extraction and by its use. Different studies shows that the use of four key industrial materials (cement, steel, plastic and aluminum) in more efficient and circular ways can help to reduce 40% of global greenhouse gases by 2050. The 55% of GHG emissions can be tackle by shifting towards renewable energy system. The remaining 45% that is linked with production of goods and management of land can be confront with the approaches of circular economy like minimizing the waste production, changing industrial processes to reduce carbon emissions, by revising the production and consumption patterns of products.
It is estimated that 21% of global CO2 emissions are produced by industrial processes. The production of only four industrial materials (cement, steel, plastic and aluminum) contribute 60% to these emissions. High temperature heat processes and production emissions, and end of life emissions are the main sources that are involved in CO2 emissions from the manufacturing process of these materials. The circular economy provides an opportunity to these costly industrial processes to shift towards those activities that are easier to decarbonize such as remanufacturing and recycling. By maximizing the reuse and recycling of materials, circular economy minimize the need for the production of new materials thus eliminate the carbon costs of new products. For instance steel and plastic are already going through the process of recycling process and this recycling can be improved further by proper collection, sorting processes and reduced contamination of recycling streams. Similarly use of concrete fines as a substitute for new cement can reduce emissions and, less leakage and mixing of different alloys will be crucial for aluminum. Industries require efforts such as change in product design and introduction of new production processes to achieve circular economy goals which can be expensive at first time but help in tackling climate change in long term.
As world population increase with industrial revolution, the amount of generated waste also increase whose disposal becomes difficult due to limited space of landfills that ultimately contributes to climate change. About 5% of global carbon emissions are caused by solid waste and around 80% of plastic waste in oceans comes from poor municipal solid waste management that cost $13 billion damage to oceans bodies annually. More alarming fact is that this solid waste generation will become triple in poorest countries by 2050. The concept of reduce, reuse and recycling play an important role in this context. The solid waste firstly need to be sorted to recover useful things such as glass, plastic, metals, paper and rubber etc. after segregation, the various fractions can be used to produce derived fuels, construction materials, cement, biogas and to recover heat energy through process of composting and incineration. The transformation of solid waste into useful products by recycling not only results in efficient use of resources but also provide many social and environmental benefits.
The unsustainable trends of food production and consumption with expanding population leads to an increase in waste generation that is deteriorating natural climate systems. Food waste is becoming one of the most challenging economic and environmental issue of this 21st century. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), it is estimated that 1.3 gigatons of edible food is wasted each year that releases 3.3 gigatons of CO2 when 870 million people go hungry every day. This food waste occurs when food is intentionally discarded by consumers and this can also happens due to overproduction of food that creates pressure on already scarce natural resources. This increasing rate of food waste can be managed in a circular way by using different strategies. One efficient use of food waste is to produce biogas and organic matter through anaerobic digestion. The organic matter can be used as a fertilizer to enhance soil quality and biogas can further used to produce electricity thus decreasing reliance on fossil fuels and also reducing GHG emissions. Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) is another emerging recycling option. This technology converts large amount of food waste into safe feed source of animals and plants. This process helps in to reduce carbon emissions that benefits both economically and ecologically. Similarly regenerative farming practices and composting are beneficial to convert organic waste into useful product that can also play role in lowering GHG emissions, reduce waste amount that send to landfills and produce end product that can help the soil in increasing its nutrients. With the use of biological waste to produce new environmentally friendly products there is also a need to involve consumer’s actively in decision making and strategies regarding the purchase and reuse of food. Additionally, to increase consumer awareness about circular economy policy, environmental sustainability, and behavior, particularly with regard to food industry by-products government organizations, educational institutions and food industry should invest in awareness raising and environmental education campaigns.
The Circular Economy presents at a time both challenges and opportunities that can significantly impact society, economy and environment of that specific area. The transition from linear economic model to circular economy model face barriers at each level. The major obstacle is to convince stakeholders to break away from traditional to adopt new practices by changing business models. Another one is infrastructure and technology as implementation of circular economy principles require advanced infrastructure and technologies for waste management, recycling and re-manufacturing that also poses financial barriers. Lack of supportive polices and regulations also hamper the adaptation of circular economy. Most importantly circular economy success depends upon consumer behavior towards adaptation of circular economy that require education and awareness. On the other hand when it comes about the opportunities of circular economy it reduces dependence on finite resources of planet earth by promoting reuse, recycling and refurbishment. Moreover, it can also help in cutting down global GHG emissions by using its different strategies, protect human life and biodiversity by making better use of natural resources, and by mitigating the climate crisis. Circular economy also play role in boosting economy of a certain area by reducing waste and creating employment. Most essentially it can mitigate environmental degradation by reducing waste generation and resource consumption.
In conclusion, with increased global industrialization and greater dependence on finite resources of earth, it constitute many challenges for mankind. The environmental burden of mankind actions increases as the world population grow in number and wealth. One of the alarming situation is climate change that is making the survival of mankind and planet itself difficult as it results in intense rain, floods, droughts, severe heat waves, melting of ice caps and as well as rise in sea level. To increase resilience to the effects of climate change, transition to circular economy is a need of time. Different approaches of circular economy will helps in returning planet earth to its natural system by reducing emissions, proper management of solid waste, shifting energy systems towards renewable resources, and by sustainable production and consumption of products. Despite benefits of circular economy, it has also some barriers for its implementation by institutions, stakeholders, consumer attitude regarding circular economy and by government bodies that can only be outface by providing proper knowledge through social media campaigns, by print media and by involvement of individuals in decision making. Overcoming the challenges and embracing the opportunities of circular economy at global, national and local level can lead to a more resilient, sustainable and prosperous future for all.
