Several commitments to achieve a worldwide circular economy were made on the 
two-day high-level World Circular Economy Forum + Climate (WCEF+Climate). The 
Netherlands Minister for the Environment, Stientje van Veldhoven, said, "With 
this summit, we ensured that circularity is seen worldwide as an inextricable 
part of solving the climate crisis."

The conference was jointly organised by The Netherlands and the Finnish 
Innovation Fund Sitra. Among the attendees were ministers from dozens of 
countries, high level UN representatives and representatives of large companies 
and start-ups. "We must decouple economic growth from climate emissions and 
overconsumption. We need global collaboration, on the path towards autumn and 
the World Circular Economy Forum 2021 in Toronto, as well as UN's Climate 
Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, as parts of a circular transition towards a 
low carbon, climate proof economy," said Jyrki Katainen, President of The 
Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. 

The WCEF+Climate clearly demonstrated the worldwide efforts towards a circular 
economy to reach our climate targets. Without a circular economy, it is 
difficult to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The smarter use of raw 
materials, greater reuse of goods and better recycling could account for a 20 
percent reduction in CO2 emissions worldwide. 

Young people have an impact 

The We Are Tomorrow Global Partnership, a worldwide youth movement, played an 
important role at the conference. The Dutch youth climate movement got a seat 
at the table: they will be involved in policy discussions towards a circular 
economy in the Netherlands. Chairman Werner Schouten: "We are pleased that 
young people's voice worldwide is becoming increasingly important. And in the 
Netherlands, we see that thousands of young people want to make an active 
contribution to a circular economy. The fact that we are allowed to participate 
in discussions with other stakeholders is another important step forward."

Attendees 

Representatives of the United Nations included Amina Mohammed (Deputy 
Secretary-General), Inger Andersen (Executive Director UNEP) and Achim Steiner 
(Administrator, UNDP). Among the European Commission's representatives was 
Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President). In more than 20 sessions, dozens 
of countries and companies pledged to work closer to increase the impact of 
existing circular initiatives. 

www.wcefplusclimate.com 

SOURCE: Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra