The linear thinking behind current consumption patterns is responsible for almost 45% of our total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (e.g. producing clothes or food). Hence, combating climate change requires the urgent transformation of the way we produce and use goods: the shift to a circular economy. Circularity needs clean materials that are free from contamination with hazardous chemicals during their entire life cycles. Thus, the SEED project “ChemClimCircle” wants to address the important gap in policy integration that must be tackled but which is not yet on the European, national, and regional policy agendas: the linkage between Chemicals, Climate and Circularity issues.
As it is a SEED project, its primary goal is to develop a future main project for larger scale partnership and funding in the Baltic Sea Region with this thematic focus. The SEED project activities will include a stakeholder mapping, literature research about the interlinkage of chemicals, climate and circularity as well as mapping existing projects, which integrate all three dimensions.
During the future main project, the consortium will conduct an analysis of the cause-and-effect chains linking chemicals, climate, and circularity, including “no-regret solutions” avoiding undesirable outcomes. It is planned to find pilot cases about successful approaches to connecting the three dimensions and organize think tank seminars. Further it will develop guidance for decision making on the different levels of the pilot cases and for strengthening policy linkages in relation to Chemicals, Climate and Circularity.
