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Resource efficiency, the circular economy, sustainable materials management and trade in metals and minerals

Author

Listed:
  • Paulo de Sa
  • Jane Korinek
Abstract
A more resource efficient and circular economy will help to decouple global economic growth from natural resource use, decrease environmental degradation and improve energy efficiency. Existing circular economy policies have been largely focused at the national level. However, trade policies can promote greater resource efficiency and circularity by enabling economies of scale in recycling; by ensuring regulatory coherence between different frameworks for recyclable material; and by helping to address the problem of exports to countries without adequate recycling facilities.The vast majority of trade in end-of-life material ‒ waste and scrap ‒ is in metallic material. Recycling metallic waste and scrap means less mining of non-renewable resources, and producing the most commonly used metals from recycled material uses 60-97% less energy than producing them from mined material. Moreover, demand for some minor metals and minerals, such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements (REE) used in energy storage, wind turbines and other environmental goods is projected to increase sharply as the global economy strives to become more carbon-neutral. Recycling these low-volume minerals will become urgent. Trade in these recovered materials will be particularly important in order to allow economies of scale for recycling operations as technologies evolve.

Suggested Citation

  • Paulo de Sa & Jane Korinek, 2021. "Resource efficiency, the circular economy, sustainable materials management and trade in metals and minerals," OECD Trade Policy Papers 245, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:traaab:245-en
    DOI: 10.1787/69abc1bd-en
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    Cited by:

    1. Jack Barrie & Patrick Schröder, 2022. "Circular Economy and International Trade: a Systematic Literature Review," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 447-471, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy storage; Export restrictions; Rare earth elements; Raw materials; Recycling; Waste and scrap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture
    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q37 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Issues in International Trade
    • Q38 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy (includes OPEC Policy)
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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