Source: Presidency of the Government.
The Council of Ministers has approved the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy (EEEC) - "Spain Circular 2030″-, which lays the foundations to overcome the linear economy and promote a new production and consumption model in which the value of products, materials and resources are kept in the economy for as long as possible; in which waste generation is minimized and maximum use is made of those whose generation could not be avoided.
"Spain Circular 2030" sets objectives for this decade that will allow, among others, a 30% reduction in the national consumption of materials, a 10% improvement in the efficiency of water use and a 15% reduction in waste generation compared to 2010, which will make it possible to place greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector below 10 million tons in 2030.
Its execution will be materialized through successive three-year action plans, which will include the specific measures to be developed by the General State Administration to implement circular economy actions in Spain. The first of these will be presented at the end of 2020 and will cover the period 2021-2023.
The Strategy is one of the key elements of the Circular Economy Framework, one of the Government's projects that aims to be a lever for economic recovery after the COVID-19 health crisis. Together with it, the Executive has today approved the preliminary draft of the Waste and Contaminated Soil Law, which will also address the challenge of single-use plastics, and a royal decree that improves traceability and control of waste shipments.
At the national level, the adoption of the EEEC was foreseen in the Climate and Environmental Emergency Declaration approved in January 2020, which includes it among the priority lines of action, and is consistent with the draft Climate Change and Energy Transition Law, which sets a target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest.
It is also in line with the main international environmental initiatives, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as with the postulates of the European Green Pact and the two European Commission Action Plans in this area.
The strategy thus contributes to Spain's efforts to achieve a sustainable, decarbonized, clean, resource-efficient and competitive economy. This approach is consistent with making possible a just and supportive transition to a new model that promotes environmental protection and the transformation of the production system, while at the same time promoting progress, social welfare and gender equality.
Meeting the challenge of achieving the transition to a circular economy requires the collaboration, participation and involvement of society as a whole, not only of the public administrations but also of all economic sectors -manufacturing, production, distribution and waste management-, which must incorporate innovation as a key element in achieving the proposed objectives. In addition, the Strategy foresees that social agents play a central role, especially consumers and citizens, whose product purchasing decisions, as well as their commitment to waste separation, are fundamental.
OBJECTIVES
It is estimated that our country needs more than two and a half times its surface area to supply the needs of our economy. In addition to the environmental impacts that this entails, the data demonstrate the inefficiency of the model and the aggravated dependence on the exterior, which makes our economy more dependent, vulnerable and less competitive.
Spain Circular 2020 sets the following objectives for the year 2030:
-To reduce by 30% the national consumption of materials in relation to GDP, taking 2010 as a reference year.
-Reduce waste generation by 15% compared to 2010.
-Reduce food waste generation throughout the food chain: 50% reduction per capita at the household and retail consumption level and 20% in the production and supply chains from 2020, thus contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
-Increase reuse and preparation for reuse to 10% of municipal waste generated.
-Improve water use efficiency by 10%.
-Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to below 10 million tons of CO2 equivalent.
SECTORS
Although the Circular Economy Strategy has a cross-cutting nature, it identifies six priority sectors: construction, agri-food, fishing and forestry, industrial, consumer goods, tourism and the textile and clothing sector. In particular, it is essential to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the circular economy to develop a Spanish industry focused on recycling.
Within this framework, the challenge is to prepare the labor market for the transition to a circular and low-emission economy, both from the perspective of workers, adapting their Capabilities and abilities to the new market demands through active labor market policies, and from the perspective of companies and public administrations, adapting the corporate culture to the principles of corporate social responsibility, and guaranteeing health and safety conditions in the workplaces affected by the change to the circular economy.
Moreover, it must be done in a way that allows companies to be efficient without incurring excessive burdens, improving their productivity, their ability to hire, their investments and their opportunities for internationalization.
PRINCIPLES, LINES OF ACTION AND POLICIES FOR CHANGE
The general principles that inspire this Strategy are: environmental protection and improvement; preventive action; decarbonization of the economy; the "polluter pays" principle; health protection; rationalization and efficiency; cooperation and coordination between public administrations; public participation; sustainable development, solidarity between people and territories; integration of environmental aspects in decision making; improvement of the economy's competitiveness and generation of quality employment.
Taking these principles into account, eight main lines of action are established on which the policies and instruments of the Circular Economy Strategy and its corresponding action plans will be focused. Five of them are related to closing the circle: production, consumption, waste management, secondary raw materials and water reuse. The remaining three are cross-cutting: Awareness and participation, Research, innovation and competitiveness, and Employment and training.
Spain Circular 2030 identifies economic, taxation, employment, R&D&I, consumption, industrial, water, agricultural and rural development policies as key policies for advancing the circular economy.
ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL
The multidisciplinary and inclusive approach of the Strategy requires incorporating the perspective of the different administrations and units in order to maintain a comprehensive and cross-cutting vision in the sectoral policies involved, as well as that of the social and economic agents:
An Interministerial Commission on the Circular Economy, with representatives of the ministries concerned, which will be responsible for evaluating and making proposals on the policies and measures to be incorporated into sectoral policies, as well as monitoring and evaluating the successive action plans on the circular economy and, in short, the Strategy; a working group within the Waste Coordination Commission, with regional and local representatives, as administrations with the power to complete the basic legislation and execute such measures; and a Circular Economy Council, as a space for public-private collaboration with all the economic and social agents and other sectors involved in the change of model.
The EEEC also includes a set of indicators to evaluate its degree of implementation, which correspond to those adopted at the European level, given that it will be the framework with which to compare our progress with respect to the rest of the Member States, to which is added the contribution of the waste sector to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
In short, Spain Circular 2030 is configured as a framework document that will allow our country to move towards a circular economy through the implementation of various action plans. This will allow, as the different actions are implemented, their effects to be evaluated and, if necessary, the necessary adjustments to be made to achieve the objectives set out in the action plans and, ultimately, in the 2030 Strategy.
You can download the Spain Circular Strategy 2030 in this link.
You can download the I Circular Economy Action Plan at this link.