3 reasons why embracing the circular economy can be powerful for middle income countries

The author asserts that a circular economy can drive a sustainable economic recovery, promote decent work by formalizing the informal recycling sector, and mitigate the climate crisis by reducing emissions in key industrial sectors. Using Chile's experience, the text highlights the potential for job creation and GDP growth, while calling for multilateral collaboration to address global issues like plastic pollution.

• The transition to a circular economy represents a $4.5 trillion global economic opportunity through waste reduction, business growth, and job creation. Sustainable use of materials and energy is projected to add $2 trillion to the global economy by 2050, with low- and middle-income nations benefiting particularly from a potential 8% growth in global GDP by 2060 if resource use growth slows by 25%.
• A circular economy can improve social wellbeing by formalizing the informal recycling sector, which includes approximately four million people in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this region, the transition could generate up to 4.8 million jobs. Chile specifically aims to create over 180,000 formal jobs by 2040, focusing on industries such as repair, to increase its recycling rates from 4% to 65%.
• While renewable energy can reduce emissions by 55%, the remaining 45% requires changes to product and food usage. Implementing a circular economy in five sectors—cement, aluminum, steel, plastics, and food—could reduce CO2 emissions by 3.7 billion tons by 2050, which is equivalent to the current emissions from all transport.
• Chile is utilizing several policy frameworks to drive its circular transition, including incorporating the circular economy into its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement as of April 2020. The country has also launched a Circular Economy Roadmap targeting the transformation of every sector by 2040 and allocates 30% of new public recovery investment to sustainability, climate action, and circular economy projects.

APA

Zaldívar, M. C. S. (2021). 3 reasons why embracing the circular economy can be powerful for middle income countries. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-middle-income-countries-should-embrace-circular-economy/

Chicago

Zaldívar, Maria Carolina Schmidt. 3 reasons why embracing the circular economy can be powerful for middle income countries. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-middle-income-countries-should-embrace-circular-economy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Zaldívar |first1=Maria Carolina Schmidt |title=3 reasons why embracing the circular economy can be powerful for middle income countries |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=29 January 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-middle-income-countries-should-embrace-circular-economy/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{zaldvar2021reasons, author = {Zaldívar, Maria Carolina Schmidt}, title = {{3 reasons why embracing the circular economy can be powerful for middle income countries}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-middle-income-countries-should-embrace-circular-economy/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }