Speech prepared for delivery at the First High-Level Meeting of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE)
Beatrice Cyiza on behalf of Minister Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment, Rwanda
Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, European Union
Mr. Jocelyn Blériot, Executive Lead Institutions, Governments & Cities, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
I am pleased to join you at this high-level meeting of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency. And I am pleased also that the Alliance family continues to grow as countries begin to lean in and understand the critical role that the circular economy will play in helping us overcome the triple planetary crisis -of climate, of biodiversity and nature loss, and of pollution and waste.
My deep appreciation to Canada, Chile, Colombia, the European Commission, India, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Switzerland – for leading the way. I acknowledge here also the presence of Mexico and Singapore as observers. And to our long-standing partner UNIDO with whom we have established this Alliance, and to partners at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy and the World Circular Economy Forum/SITRA – my thanks for being on this journey ahead.
Ministers, friends, I do not need to tell anyone here that it is far beyond time to move to circular economic models.
As we just heard from Janez Potocnik, the co-Chair of the International Resource Panel, the drivers of biodiversity loss are caused by overexploitation and our hunger for food, fuel, fiber and feed. Our overexploitation of nature.
And our current linear system has led us to our current situation of rapid biodiversity ad ecosystem loss. Indeed, as noted in the Global Resources Outlook 2019 produced by the International Resource Panel, the extraction and processing of biomass drives over 80 per cent of land-use-related biodiversity loss.
Over the past decade, 26 per cent of global tree cover loss was caused by the production of just seven agricultural commodities – cattle, palm oil, soy, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and wood fiber (essentially timber, pulp and paper). Now while some of these commodities are consumables, others can clearly be circular in our economy.
And increasingly, we understand that fewer and fewer varieties and breeds of plants and animals are being cultivated, raised, traded and maintained around the world, despite many local efforts, which include those by indigenous peoples and local communities.
Further, of course, two-thirds of our marine life is under threat from plastic pollution and overfishing, and globally recorded populations of animals, mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have fallen by 68 per cent over the last half century.
Our growing need for extracting new resources is also deeply altering our ecosystems. More than 150 billion tonnes of rock are mined each year, to produce around 65 billion tonne of mineral products, 72 billion tonne of waste rock and 13 billion tonnes of mine tailings waste.
But we are yet to tap into the true potential for circularity to be a powerful lever to address the biodiversity crisis. Because circular economy approaches that invest in the regenerative cycle of nature, can restore ecosystems and services they provide. We are already seeing this in agriculture, food production and in urban spaces. From regenerative organic farming in Brazil. To 3D ocean farms that turn barren patches of ocean into thriving reefs. To adaptative reuse approaches to revitalize Sydney’s harbour area – the good news is that we have examples of what is working, and through this Alliance, we aim to scale-up and multiply these efforts.
It is equally important that we use the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that countries will agree on next year at COP15, as a key multilateral framework within which circularity must be embedded. Indeed, circularity can be instrumental to the achievement of many targets within this framework, including target 7 to “Reduce pollution from all sources to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and human health …”, target 8 to “Minimize the impact of climate change on biodiversity …” and target 15 aimed at ensuring “All businesses … progressively reduce negative impact by at least half and increase positive impact ...”
Ministers, as I have said before, the Framework must drive actions outside the conservation “bubble” so it can deliver real results. Circularity is one important pillar of action that can put humanity back into harmony with nature. As the UN Secretary-General noted last “Humanity faces a stark and urgent choice: breakdown or breakthrough.” Circularity offers us a clear shot at one such breakthrough because it is the only way that humanity can thrive and prosper on this planet for centuries to come.
Thank you.
Executive Director
