G-20 Presidency agenda: Circular economy agenda to be given thrust during India's presidency, says Amitabh Kant

Amitabh Kant, G-20 Sherpa, Govt of India today said that the long-term low emission development strategy by India is for achieving climate goals and the need for sustainable production. He emphasized that for achieving Sustainable Development Goals, India needs to look at alternative paradigms of production and consumption to achieve sustainable material and the well-being of society.
 
Addressing the ‘6th edition of the FICCI Circular Economy Symposium 2022’, Kant added that today there is a higher level of awareness present in government, institutions, and corporates regarding the circular economy. “During our G-20 presidency, we will lay huge emphasis on providing thrust to circular economy agenda for developing consensus on key issues. G-20 provides opportunities by accelerating circular transition and FICCI will need to play an effective role in very many deliberations under G-20,” said G-20 Sherpa.

India so far has identified some of its priority issues — growth and prosperity, resilient global value chains, MSMEs, logistics, and WTO reform under its G20 presidency from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also assured in one of her recent speeches during the 14th Annual International G20 Conference session that issues related to climate finance and sustainable development will be at the core of the agendas.

Kant further stated that transitioning to a fully circular economy within a generation will require urgent and large-scale action from all parts of society. He stressed that fact that a circular economy is necessary for climate change and a huge amount of cross-sectoral collaboration is critical to facilitate a circular economy.

Global circular economy transition presents US$ 4.5 trillion in value potential by 2030; USD 0.5 trillion value to be unlocked through the circular economy in India, finds a recent FICCI-Accenture Report.

“We ensure that regulations do not become burdensome and that there are cross-cutting issues that will be identified and resolved. We will promote it through business models and startups and create a business model of a circular economy. It has to be a part of innovation, part of the business model that everything we produce becomes an input into another thing that we produce, therefore there are backward and forward linkages,” he added.
 
Ministry of Environment and Forests this year has introduced Extended Producers Responsibility for used tires, and batteries, and revised rules for e-wastes and plastics.

He emphasized that climate change and material use are closely linked as circular economy strategies ultimately prioritize material value retention and cut excess consumption; they can be extremely effective in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, mentioned G-20 Sherpa.