The World Circular Economy Forum will, for the first
time, take place on African soil in 2022, bringing together participants from
around the world to absorb lessons from the continent and the wider global
south toward building a more resilient and greener global economy.
The Forum will be held from 6-8
December, in Kigali, Rwanda.
The 2022 World Circular Economy Forum
2022 (WCEF2022) will present some of the world’s best circular economy
solutions as well as examine how businesses from Africa and elsewhere can seize
new opportunities and gain a competitive advantage in the transition to
low-carbon and climate-resilient economies.
Business leaders, policymakers and
experts from around the world are expected to participate. The first Forum was
held in 2017.
Under the theme From Africa to the
World, the hybrid-format event will have proceedings livestreamed on big
screens in several African cities to drive broad-based engagement with the
forum.
The format will enable remote
participation in discussions about local models and examples of the circular
economy.
“With the youngest population in the
world, the African continent can take a crucial role in the global transition
towards circularity. Rwanda is proud to host the World Circular Economy Forum
2022, showing African leadership and commitment,” said Rwanda’s Minister of
Environment, Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya.
Rwanda is a founding member of the African
Circular Economy Alliance and serves as co-chair. The government of Rwanda, the
African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA), the African Circular Economy Network
(ACEN), and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, will jointly host the event with
international partners.
The global south is expected to face
among the most severe impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss as a
result of the take-make-waste economic paradigm. This is particularly true in
Africa.
At the same time, the continent has vast
natural resources, and a young, vibrant and entrepreneurial population. As
such, it is seen as having both incentive and potential to play a lead role in
driving the circular economy model and building greater resilience across the
globe.
“As a growing continent, Africa plays
a key role in advancing circularity. The WCEF2022 presents an ideal platform to
showcase cutting-edge circular solutions to support the Paris climate goals and
the Sustainable Development Goals.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) together with its partners, the government of
Finland and the Nordic Development Fund, recently launched the Africa Circular
Economy Facility to support this transformation as part of Africa’s Agenda
2063,” said Dr Kevin Kariuki, vice-president for Power, Energy, Climate Change
and Green Growth at the African Development Bank.
Sitra’s President Jyrki Katainen said:
“According to Sitra’s recent study, circular economy interventions can halt
global biodiversity loss and help the world’s biodiversity recover. Circularity
is crucial not only to keep valuable materials in use, but also to ease the
pressure on extracting virgin natural resources.”
A website for the 2022 World Circular Economy Forum will be
launched in this month. The Forum’s agenda will be made public in October 2022.
Source: asaaseradio