Euroopan talous- ja sosiaalikomitea
Siirtyminen kiertotalouteen on tärkeällä sijalla ETSK:n asialistalla, sillä se on yksi keino torjua ilmastokriisiä ja suojella maapalloa. Kierotalous tarjoaa kansalaisyhteiskunnan kannalta erinomaisen tilaisuuden, sillä se voi auttaa
Nykytaloudessa edelleen vallitseva lineaarinen tuotanto- ja kulutusmalli paitsi johtaa resurssien haaskaamiseen myös vesittää ilmastonmuutoksen torjuntaa. Toisin kuin lineaarinen talous kiertotalous on uusintava ja korjaava talousmalli, jossa keskitytään taloudellisen arvon luomiseen ja säilyttämiseen. Se tuottaa taloudellista hyötyä, mutta samalla sen avulla myös vastataan maailmanlaajuisiin ympäristöhaasteisiin, kuten ilmastonmuutokseen, biologisen monimuotoisuuden köyhtymiseen ja saastumiseen.
Hyvä uutinen on, että kentällä ollaan jo siirtymässä kiertotalouteen. Kansalaisyhteiskunnan sidosryhmät, kuten yritykset, ammattijärjestöt, tiedemaailma ja osaamisyhteisöt, nuorisojärjestöt sekä kansalaisjärjestöt ja muut eturyhmät, kehittävät ja toteuttavat parhaillaan monia kiertotalousaloitteita paikallis- ja aluetasolla. EU voi vauhdittaa kiertotalouteen siirtymistä parhaiten edistämällä asiaankuuluvien sidosryhmien kehittämiä kiertotalousratkaisuja ja tukemalla niiden johtavaa roolia asiassa.
ETSK ja Euroopan komissio perustivatkin vuonna 2017 yhdessä Euroopan kiertotalouden sidosryhmäfoorumin, joka kokoaa yhteen Euroopan kiertotalousyhteisön. Tämä sidosryhmävetoinen foorumi tukee Euroopan siirtymistä kiertotalouteen edistämällä vuoropuhelua, tiedon jakamista ja parhaiden käytäntöjen vaihtoa.
The Finnish presidency of the Council of the EU will place the fight against climate change high on its agenda. One of the challenges will be to unite the 28 Member States around this fight and focus on the opportunities that a more sustainable Europe can provide for economic, social and environmental progress.
More than 350 circular economy stakeholders from across Europe shared their success stories and the challenges they face during the second day of the Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference, hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee on 7 March 2019.
The advantages of sorting and recycling plastics must become tangible for European citizens, says the EESC
Opening the Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference at the European Commission on February 20, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Georges Dassis, said: "the transition to a circular economy is a great opportunity for civil society. It is already happening on the ground. We can feel it from the commitment and involvement of our businesses, the many initiatives taking place at local and regional level, ...
In March 2017, the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) launched a joint European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP). The platform’s 24-member coordination group has now been chosen and the list of participants published.
In March this year, the European Commission (EC) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) launched a joint European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform. The 24 members forming the coordination group of the platform have now been selected and are preparing for their first meeting on 22 November.
Insularity is considered to be a permanent and unchangeable geographical feature which involves additional costs (transport, energy, waste management, public services, necessity goods and services) that hamper the development and competitiveness of the islands, while particularly exposing them to biodiversity loss and climate change. The organised civil society has an important role to play and tackle all these challenges and through this debate. The aim is to find the best practices and solutions so that EU islands can preform better and recover from the multiple crises.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will be producing an own-initiative opinion on the main challenges faced by EU islands and mountainous and sparsely populated areas, which is scheduled for adoption at the EESC's September plenary session. In this context, the EESC, along with the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and the North Sweden European Office (NSEO), will be holding a public hearing in Umeå (Sweden) on 4 May 2023 entitled "Challenges and opportunities that the digital and energy transitions present to the northern sparsely populated areas and islands. How can these regions become drivers for growth and development?". The hearing is an event under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
With this debate, the ECO section is providing ex-ante input to the European Commission, in preparation for the upcoming 2023 strategic foresight cycle that wants to shed light on the strategic decisions needed to ensure a socially and economically sustainable Europe with a stronger role in the world in the coming decades.
On 27 and 28 February 2023, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Commission will host the 2023 European Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference in hybrid mode. The sixth Conference will bring together Europe's biggest circular economy stakeholders to focus on the role of the circular economy in driving sustainable recovery, open strategic autonomy and resilience.
