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.