While the use of fossil fuels is inherently linear, renewable energy solutions, such as solar and wind, provide an immense opportunity for transitioning to a circular economy. 

As countries strive to decarbonize their economies – with many adopting targets to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century - and meet commitments under the Paris Agreement, among the main approaches adopted is the scaling up of renewable energy in electricity production through targeted policy support schemes. 

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy technologies like solar and wind are fundamental to reducing emissions in the electricity sector, which is today the single largest source of CO2 emissions. In the IEA’s pathway to net zero, almost 90% of global electricity generation in 2050 would come from renewable sources, with solar PV and wind together accounting for nearly 70%.

Moving to a circular economy -  through recycling materials, extending their use as much as possible – can reduce both the cost for renewable energy generation and its environmental impact. But it also brings significant challenges. Batteries, for example, show the problem of scarcity of resources and the pressing need to recycle resources and materials in a sustainable economic system. 
Renewable energy needs to be produced and used in a circular manner, including the way in which renewable energy equipment and infrastructure is designed, manufactured, built and managed, during and after its use. 

But what are the main challenges and opportunities to scale up the use of renewables as part of a circular economy transition? In "One World, Zero Waste?", we hear insights from Rana Adib, Executive Director at the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) and Wolfgang Gründinger, Chief Evangelist of Enpal GmbH, a photovoltaics leasing firm that provides solar power systems.

UNECE’s Gianluca Sambucini also shares insights into the vital role of international cooperation to align energy with the circular economy, through initiatives including Renewable Energy “Hard Talks” organized by the UNECE Group of Experts on Renewable Energy for individual countries. He further highlights the importance of cooperation on sustainable resource management to foster circular economy approaches – including for so-called Critical Raw Materials, and the need to improve energy efficiency, such as for buildings, to reduce overall resource pressures.

One World Zero Waste? The Circular Economy Explained

Energy - One World, Zero Waste? The Circular Economy Explained

In this episode of Innovation Matters, we explore the intricate dynamics of regulation and innovation with Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow with the R. Street Institute’s technology and innovation team. He discusses the evolution of 'permissionless innovation' and its influence on past, present, and future technological progress. Drawing insights from his book "Permissionless Innovation: The Continuing Case for Comprehensive Technological Freedom", we embark on a journey to understand how various advancements have flourished without restrictions and impacted the technologies we rely on today.

Episode Part 1 with Adam Thierer

Innovation Matters: Regulation and Innovation (Part 1)

Scientific and technological innovations frequently put the spotlight on the laws that govern them. In this episode of Innovation Matters, Professor Robin Feldman explains why the protection of invention arrangements can cause trouble and, in many ways, end up acting as a disincentive to innovation. 

The very nature of inventions makes them impossible to describe unambiguously for all time. When something is so new that we do not understand yet how it works, what it can do, or how it could be applied - as is often the case in biotechnology - description is necessarily slippery. Instead of hoping for clear boundaries, Professor Robin Feldman urges lawmakers to focus on what the law can do well: craft rules that anticipate the bargaining that will occur as rights unfold.

Law and incentivising innovation in the age of digitalization

In this episode of Innovation Matters, we expand on the previous conversation with Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow with the R. Street Institute’s technology and innovation team, about the present and future of regulation in an era of unprecedented innovation. In Part 2, our focus is on the contemporary landscape of legislation, and the balance between permissionless innovation and effective governance. As the pace of technological advancement accelerates, we explore the challenge of reconciling rapid change with the traditional pace of legislation, particularly in the context of digitization.

Innovation Matters: Regulation and Innovation (Part 2)

In the mid-18th Century, the modern economy started to take shape. While limited to the invention of the factory system and the boom in the textile sector for the first decades, the Industrial Revolution brought unprecedented social and economic changes. Marking, in the words of prominent historian Eric Hobsbawn, “the most fundamental transformation of human life in the history of the world”, the innovative dynamism and legacy the industrial revolution created is alive and well today. In this episode of Innovation Matters, Professor Emma Griffin explains what prompted and upheld the industrial revolution and the innovative dynamism it paved the way for – and what we can learn from history on how to sustain innovative dynamism today and in the future.

Emma Griffin is professor of modern British history at the University of East Anglia and President of the Royal Historical Society.

Innovation Matters: The Legacy of the Industrial Revolution (Part 1)

In the previous episode of Innovation Matters on the industrial revolution with Professor Emma Griffin, we explored how innovative dynamism changed our word radically in a process still going on today. This second episode explores what life was like for the working class. Often maligned as squalid and dehumanizing, Emma Griffin delves into a range of autobiographies telling a different, much more nuanced story of optimism, perspectives, and dynamism.

Innovation Matters: The Legacy of the Industrial Revolution (Part 2)

In this episode, we delve into the question of why certain countries excel in innovation while others, with similar resources, do not achieve the same level of success. In conversation with Dr. Mark Zachary Taylor of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Innovation Matters sheds light on the complex factors beyond institutions and policies that drive national innovation strategies.

Innovation Matters: the Politics of Innovation

In this episode of Innovation Matters, we delve into the relationship between capitalism, innovation, and societal progress with Dr. Rainer Zitelmann. 

Through a historical lens and contemporary examples, this episode explores how capitalist dynamics have fostered technological breakthroughs, economic development, and contributed to improved standards of living for billions globally.

Innovation Matters: Capitalism and Innovation (Part 1)

Sustainability is a pressing concern in the fashion and textile industry.

In this episode of “The UN Forest Podcast”, host Samata Pattinson is joined by Åsa Degerman, Ben Selby and Carlo Covini to discuss the transformative role of forests and new technologies in making fashion more sustainable and circular.
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About the UN Forest Podcast

The UN Forest Podcast is a series produced by the Joint UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section to showcase that the potential of forests goes beyond trees. Each episode features special guests and speakers who bring insights on forests as our strongest allies in fighting climate change and creating a sustainable future now and for generations to come.

The views expressed in this episode are those of the individuals involved and should not be interpreted as endorsements by the United Nations, its affiliated organizations, its officials or Member States. 
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Credits:

Samata Pattinson, CEO of BLACK PEARL
Åsa Degerman, Project Manager at OnceMore®
Ben Selby, CFO and Deputy CEO of Spinnova
Carlo Covini, Project Manager Marketing Textiles at Lenzing
Nicola Sangs, Editor and Producer 
Paola Deda, Director, Forests, Land and Housing Division of UNECE

Audio credits:

“vintage jingle”
Licensor: SETUNIMAN 
Link & creative commons license details: https://freesound.org/s/156019/

“Atmo – Noise” 
Licensor: SIMBERTOB
Link & creative commons license details: https://freesound.org/people/SimbertoB/sounds/186597/

“Chill Background Music” 
Licensor: ZHRØ
Link & creative commons license details: https://freesound.org/people/ZHR%C3%98/sounds/584430/

“Chill Background Music” 
Licensor: Seth_Makes_Sounds
Link & creative commons license details: https://freesound.org/people/Seth_Makes_Sounds/sounds/670039/

Forests For Fashion hosted by Samata Pattinson - the UN Forest Podcast

In this episode of Innovation Matters, we delve into the complex interplay between government policies, market dynamics, and transformative innovation with Dr. Anders Kärnä. As we navigate through the nuances of economic development and public policy, Dr. Kärnä offers a critical analysis on how governments can either foster or hinder innovation through industrial policies. Drawing from historical examples and current economic theories, this episode explores the delicate balance between governmental intervention and market freedom that underpins successful innovation ecosystems worldwide.

Innovation Matters - Innovation policy

UNECE fosters sustainable development by translating the #GlobalGoals into norms and conventions that impact people’s lives every day.

Energy - One World, Zero Waste? The Circular Economy Explained

UNECE

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