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Article: The circular economy: The economic stakes of an environmental transition
By Janez POTOCNIK
Ex EU Commissioner for the Environment
Abstract
Originating at a time when natural resources were abundant and cost very little, our current economic paradigm has always been characterized by an intensive use of resources. This has led to a deterioration of our stock of “natural” capital and contributed to climate change. We must now make a break with this linear model (extract, manufacture, use, throw away) in favor of a circular one that not only optimizes the use of each resource but also reuses them. Realizing such a change requires ambitious strategies, now the focus of the European Commission’s efforts.