On the road to 2050: The path to achieving a circular economy for mobility
and renewable energy
Climate change is one of the biggest crises humanity is facing at this time (Zwane E. M. 2019). Two of the largest emitters of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the mobility (14% of global GHG emissions in 2018) and energy (34%) sector (Lamb et al. 2021), which require a major shift towards renewable energy and alternative fuel systems to succesfully contribute to GHG emission goals (O'Neill et al. 2018). However, this transition comes with its own set of challenges, in particular an increased resource intensity, its dependence on critical minerals and metals, as well as sustainability challenges in the technologies' supply chains (Mancini & Nuss 2020, Wang et al. 2020). These challenges highlight the need for more sustainable resource management from mining, to consumption, to reuse and recycling, and progress towards a clean and circular economy (Smol et al. 2020).
The importance of recycling for the provision and reuse of raw materials in the energytransition is indisputable. However, we are still a long way from a functioning circular economyand numerous obstacles still need to be overcome, with regards to both the technology andpolicy including legislation. The RE-SOURCING project is developing recommendations in theform of roadmaps on how the value chains for renewable energy and mobility can be made moresustainable. The starting point is an analysis of the State of Play, where numerous problems andobstacles to successful implementation of a circular economy with a focus on recycling in bothsectors have been identified. Recommendations for industry, civil society organisations, and Europeanpolicy makers to address these challenges, particularly the recycling of lithium-ion batteries,wind turbines, and solar photovoltaic panels are provided. These recommendations rangefrom improved transport safety to the substitution of non-recyclable materials and the revision ofregulations that have a potentially negative impact on companies' recycling efforts. Furthermore,chances for re-use/repurposing were evaluated. We are aware that circular economy is evenbroader, but due to the RE-SOURCING project's focus on raw materials, recycling and reuse are at the centre of our research.
Autor(en)
Marie-Theres Kügerl, J. Betz, Dipl.-Geogr. Stefanie Degreif