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Qian Yi, Environmental Scientist, Tsinghua University, China

Rapid economic development and population growth worldwide have inevitably resulted in increases in pollution, waste and carbon emissions, putting further pressure on the planet and contributing to global warming. Closed loop processes and cleaner production techniques may be able to offer solutions to reduce these environmental impacts and, hence the impacts of climate change. Such processes combine to offer a circular economy approach to reducing environmental impact, while at the same time furthering significant country development. China is embracing the circular economy as a potential new economic pattern for its future development.

INTRODUCTION

Rapid economic development and population growth in the 20th century have caused serious environmental problems that are now affecting our climate. Experiences and lessons from practices around the world have proven that end-of-pipe treatments are not a cost-effective way of reducing these impacts. Instead, cleaner production, first developed in the 1970s, has obtained both environmental and economical benefits in different countries. The circular economy, closed loop concept was first developed in the 1990s and, together, these approaches can offer ways to minimise resource consumption and pollution production, thereby reducing overall emissions and mitigating, to some extent, the impacts of climate change.

CLEANER PRODUCTION

The cleaner production concept was developed in the 1980s with the Cleaner Production Program launched at the UNEP in 1989. For production processes, cleaner production involves conserving raw materials and energy and eliminating toxic raw materials, reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes before they leave the process. For products, cleaner production involves reducing the negative environmental impacts of a product along its life cycle, from raw materials extraction to its ultimate disposal. For services, cleaner production involves incorporating environmental concerns into designing and delivering services. Most importantly, cleaner production requires a change of attitudes and technology improvements.

In China, a strategy to implement cleaner production was proposed and endorsed by the Chinese Government at the Second National Conference on Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control in 1993. Promotion of cleaner production was listed as one of the nine top priorities in China’s Agenda 21 issued in the same year. Since then, a series of efforts have been made for its implementation:

• Cleaner production implementation is being encouraged in laws and regulations related to environmental protection when they are modified and a new law, the Law of Promoting Cleaner Production of PRC, was issued in 2002 and put into effect in Jan 1, 2003.
• Cleaner production centres have been set up at national and provincial levels and industrial sectors to provide technical support to implement the cleaner production programme.
• Cleaner production implementation projects have been set up in China with the help of UNEP, the World Bank, UNIDO, UNDP, the EU, and other foreign countries, including Canada, the US, Norway, Australia and the UK. These include: developing the Chinese cleaner production audit manual for enterprises; raising awareness on cleaner production; training of cleaner production auditors; executing cleaner production audits in demonstration plants and implementing cleaner production options requiring low cost or no cost;

Experiences of those who adopt cleaner production, show that both significant environmental and economic benefits are possible. Most organisations, for example, recoup their investment within two to three years, while significantly reducing pollutant discharges and emissions.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Closed loop processes or the circular economy concept have evolved from decades of worldwide effort to work towards a sustainable economic development model.

Circular economy, not linear economy

Traditional industrial economy is a one way linear economy consisting of ‘resource – production – consumption – disposal’. In this kind of open loop
system, energy and materials are ‘drained’ from the planet while also releasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants to land, sea and air. Economic activities are typically ‘high exploitation, low utilisation, and severe pollution’.

In the circular economy, however, a development pattern is promoted that is harmonious with the earth. The circular economy organises economic activities towards a closed loop process of ‘resource – production – consumption – regenerated resource’. All materials and energy are used rationally and continuously in sustained economy cycles, and the harmful effects of emissions and pollutants can be reduced to a minimal level.

The three ‘Rs’ as a working principle of a circular economy

The waste mantra of the three Rs: ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ form the principles of a circular economy:

• Reduce: reducing the input energy and material flows into the production and consumption process; producing essential products with as few resources as possible.
• Reuse: using natural resources and products in every possible ways.
• Recycle: turning wastes to secondary resources, reducing wastes for final disposal and decreasing the consumption of natural resources.

Some may simply regard circular economy as waste recycling, yet the fundamental goal is to systematically prevent and reduce wastes in the industrial process. And according to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development (CCICED)Task Force on Circular Economic and Cleaner Production, cleaner production is the cornerstone of circular economy.

Circular economy as the economic pattern for sustainable development

Traditionally, economic growth and environment protection do not always go together. They are separated instead of integrated in solving economic, social and environmental problems. Traditional economy, for example, solely pursues GDP growth. It grows at the cost of natural capital consumption and leads to conflict between economy and environment. It reduces employment positions by increasing the level of automation, and leads to conflict between economy and society.

Unlike a traditional economy, the circular economy is a ‘triple-win’ economy. It combines economic growth, environmental protection (which includes those actions needed to reduce the impacts of climate change) and social employment. In every aspect of development, a circular economy means a revolutionary change. In promoting economic growth, a circular economy brings a change: from material growth in volume to service growth in quality. In solving environmental problems, the circular economy brings change from open-loop terminal recovery to closed-loop process control. And in promoting social employment, a circular economy brings change from an employment-downwards society to an employment-upwards society.

We have long followed a linear growth pattern and as a result economic growth has accelerated at the cost of ecological deterioration with profound changes to the world’s climate. We must find a new economic pattern for China’s future development, ie the organic integration of economic growth, environment and resource protection, and social employment achieved by a circular economy.

Some iron and steel complexes in China, for example, have made efforts to follow a circular, closed loop strategy. All emissions from the production process are collected and used to produce electricity and all solid waste is used to produce cement. In addition, water recycling occurs as much as possible for reducing water consumption. As a result, an iron and steel complex with the capacity of 8-10 X 106 tonnes of steel can support a power station with 1.2 X 106 KW of electricity and a cement manufacture with 3 X 106 tonnes of cement, greatly reducing overall emissions.

Some municipalities and provinces in China have also launched programmes promoting the circular economy. Ecological industrial parks have developed rapidly in China, linking several enterprises in order to make efficient use of materials and energy. In Liao Ning Province, Jiangsu Province and GuiYang city and Shanghai Municipality, strategic overview plans have been developed to carry out activities based on a circular economy at municipality or provincial level. Industrial, agricultural and social aspects are included. It is expected that a law for promoting circular economy will be drafted and issued in the near future.

CONCLUSION

The circular economy is a new mode of economic development which not only concerns the change of production patterns but also the change of consumption patterns. The urgent need now, if we are at all serious in our efforts to curb the impacts of climate change, is implementation. To do this, the coordination of different institutes and the combination of different measures: educational, logistical, instructional, financial and technological, will be vital.

Author

Professor Qian is an environmental scientist and educator in China. Ms Qian has been involved in education and research on water pollution control at Tsinghua University as an associate professor. She has conducted research on: appropriate technologies for wastewater treatment in China, mechanisms and technologies for treating refractory organic pollutants, the treatment process for wastewater reuse, strategy

for sustainable management of water resources. She is an elected member of the China Academy of Engineering and serves as Vice Chairman of the Committee of Environmental and Resources Protection, the National People’s Congress of China. Professor Qian is also a member of the Board of Directors of
the World Resources Institute. She is actively engaged in the implementation of cleaner production and sustainable development strategy in China.

Organisation

Tsinghua University is the leading university within science and technology in China with a long and distinguished record in environmental sciences and engineering education and research. Courses in municipal engineering have been offered here since 1928. At present, the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering has over 80 faculty members, including three members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, over 360 undergraduates, and over 400 graduate students. Main research focuses on water pollution, atmospheric pollution, solid waste, remediation of polluted environments, environmental chemistry, environmental biology, environmental management and policy, environmental information systems.

Enquiries

Yi Qian
Department of Environmental Science & Engineering
Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
E-mail:

Picture credits: Chinese city - TRE Wheeler/Fotolia; Industrial plant - Clivia/Fotolia