The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has expressed cautious optimism about the outcomes of COP30.
At one point, the negotiations between over 190 countries were close to collapsing when petrostates and countries demanding a more ambitious text threatened to block any deal.
It appears a compromise was reached at the final hour in the form of two voluntary agreements, one on a transition away from fossil fuels and another on ending deforestation.
However, the final text that emerged from the conference in Belém, Brazil, did not include a single reference to fossil fuels.
CIWM Director of Policy Comms & External Affairs, Dan Cooke, said the voluntary agreements were still ‘vital’ for the sector as much of the upcoming legislation and regulation affecting resource and waste management stems from the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero.
Cooke said: “As we flagged in our early coverage of COP30 in Brazil, the fact that, for the first time, there was a focus on the circular economy and the launch of the Global Circularity Protocol for business, with new key corporate metrics to measure circular performance, is a positive takeaway for our members.”
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and One Planet Network also announced the official launch of the Global Circularity Protocol for business at COP30.
Developed in partnership with over 150 experts from over 80 organisations, the GCP is the ‘world’s first’ voluntary framework designed to help companies manage their circular performance and impacts across value chains.
COP30 also saw parties approve a ‘just transition mechanism’ aiming to enhance international cooperation.
Cooke welcomed the funding for climate adaptation in developing countries, along with the just transition mechanism.
“This includes plans to increase recycling and renewable power, to reduce fossil fuel packaging and to decarbonise the residual waste stream,” he said.
Commenting on COP30, Diane Crowe, Group Sustainability Director at Reconomy, said: “While this year’s COP ended in contention with non-binding agreements exposing divisions over how to tackle climate change, the launch of the world’s first voluntary, science-based and globally harmonised framework for measuring circular performance is a genuinely positive step.”
“This framework will give businesses a clear and credible way to measure their progress on their journeys to becoming more circular, which remains both an economic and environmental imperative.”