Distinguished Vice Minister,

Esteemed Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to commend the Government of the Netherlands for championing circular economy for climate action and organising this important event today. 

It is broadly recognised that unsustainable consumption and production and the ever-growing race for transition-critical resources are contributing to our planetary crisis and growing levels of poverty, inequality, and instability. 

Over the last 50 years, material use has increased more than three times and continues to grow on average over 2.3 percent per year. As a result, our planet’s rich biodiversity is being lost, our land is being degraded, and global temperatures continue to rage on. 2023 was the hottest year on record and 2024 is on track to be even hotter still. 

Climate instability, biodiversity loss, and land degradation are interconnected crises -so are the solutions. 

Circular economy strategies are a prime example of an integrated approach that can underpin ambitious climate action and contribute to restoring natural systems - while simultaneously producing new economic opportunities and advancing sustainable development priorities. 

To achieve our climate, nature and land goals through circularity, I would like to outline three pathways:

First, we must integrate circular economy into countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions -- or NDCs -- that represent ‘sovereign investment plans’ for the future. 

UNDP has been mandated by the UN Secretary-General to lead the UN System-wide coordinated effort on support to countries on their NDCs 3.0 - due in 2025 – through its Climate Promise 2025. 

NDCs offer many entry points for circular economy - from climate change mitigation and adaptation and the energy transition; to regenerative food and agriculture; chemicals and waste management, including plastics; and mining and extractive industries.

Yet only 28 percent of NDCs have an explicit reference to the circular economy.

In response, UNDP, UNEP, and UNFCCC have co-developed a toolbox to integrate circular economy in NDCs 3.0 – an initiative made possible the Government of the Netherlands and Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund – and which you will learn more about during the panel discussion. 

Second, adopting circularity holds the potential to restore ecosystems and rebuild natural capital -- increasing the resilience and sustainability of communities, particularly the most vulnerable who depend on natural ecosystems for their livelihoods and who are most impacted by climate change impacts.

That is a principle underpinning UNDP’s Nature Pledge, which is supporting 140 countries to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework -- including through bold National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and Biodiversity Finance Plans.

UNDP is also working with many government counterparts to implement their voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality targets – helping ensure that the three Rio conventions go hand in hand.

Finally, leveraging platforms such as the recently-concluded NDCs 3.0 Regional Fora and the World Circular Economy Forum – of which UNDP is a proud partner – to foster knowledge-sharing and peer-to-peer learning on the potential and opportunities for circular economy approaches to achieve the Rio Convention targets.

Your Excellency, Colleagues and Friends,

In short, the just transition to a circular economy must draw lessons from ‘nature’s economy’ -- whereby nothing is discarded but instead embraced as raw material for the next cycle of growth and renewal – as many Indigenous communities have practiced for millennia. 

If we are to harness the full potential of circular economy approaches at scale and at speed, we need to forge stronger partnerships between governments, business leaders, Indigenous Peoples, youth, academia - from global to local levels.

Only by working together can we succeed in protecting nature, reducing emissions, and strengthening our societies, now and for generations to come. 

In that spirit, I would like to wish you a most productive discussion. 

Thank you.