EIT Climate-KIC and Plastic Waste Prevention at COP25

At COP25 the EIT Climate-KIC convened events in the context of the official conference, discussing climate change, and sharing examples of its work. At the events, C-KIC has been promoting its ‘systems innovation approach’ to tackling climate change. It is based on the assumption that only a systemic change will turn global commitments into actions towards a 1.5 degree world. 

As part of the programme, C-KIC moderated a discussion with leading stakeholders about the mitigation of plastic-related greenhouse gas emissions. By bringing together government, policy experts, civil society and private sector representatives, the panel drew attention to the plastics industry as an overlooked driver of global carbon emissions. 

The group concluded that radical and urgent collaboration is needed to rework the plastics value chain and tackle the current plastics crisis. 

EIT Climate-KIC’s CEO Kirsten Dunlop summarised: “The point-based innovations have emerged; the challenge now is enabling systems transformation through integrated and coordinated interventions. First, we need to keep reducing plastic as much as possible – reflect on what do we have and what is actually needed. Second, we need to take care of the inefficiencies in plastics recycling. Third, regulate and re-design – not simply business models, but also taking into considering territorial and trans-national material flows. Most of all, we need to reduce egos to encourage actors that want to be individual heroes to work together for a global solution”.

eCircular as a C-KIC programme is addressing the plastics industry as a global driver of carbon emissions and accelerating the circularity of plastic-based materials systems, with the vision of reaching a carbon-neutral material system by 2050. The programme thrives for radical digital innovations for waste prevention and their up-scaling. eCircular promotes innovative solutions and advanced industry standards such as eco-design approaches and new business models that are relevant for the systems transformation.

 

Read more here: https://www.climate-kic.org/press-releases/cop-25-plastic-ghg-emissions/