Circular economy in action: Regional adaptation of global strategies. The case of Georgia
Represents a significant contribution to understanding the challenges faced by countries with different levels of economic development in their efforts to implement circular economy principles. The book evaluates key aspects of the transition from a linear to a circular model, examining the role of innovation and technology.Special attention is given to practical guidance and the simulation of economic adaptation methods, demonstrated through the case of Georgia.
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© Leila Abdullina, 2025
ISBN 978-5-0065-7665-0
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
Introduction
Economic and ecological challenges of the modern world are forcing traditional approaches to be reconsidered with regard to production and consumption. Contemporary realities urge scientists, economists, and policy makers to seek solutions that could guarantee long-term sustainability of economic systems at an appropriate standard of living for current and future generations. During the last few centuries, the linear economy has been the dominant model of economic activity and is based on the principle “take-make-dispose”.
Historically, the linear economy appeared during the Industrial Revolution when mass production and consumption became the foundation of economic growth. In a time when natural resources were abundant and the costs of their extraction and processing were relatively low, the “take-make-dispose” model was advantageous and convenient for economically developed countries. The main objective was to increase the volumes of production, while the environmental consequences remained on the periphery for a long time. With the increase in population size, urbanization, and standards of living, production and consumption started to reach scales whereby the negative impacts of a linear economy manifested themselves in pollution, waste accumulation, and resource depletion. Although the linear model favored economic growth and the improvement of the quality of life, its shortcomings started to be realized during the second half of the 20th century. It has been proved to be unsustainable since it did not consider finiteness in resources, nor does it provide for waste management or any method to reduce the environmental impact. In the present scenario, a linear economy cannot provide sustainable economic growth in the present scenario without considerable environmental and health hazards.
In recent decades, a linear economy has been at the core of serious environmental problems such as resource depletion, waste accumulation, and pollution. The impact is now reaching such a critical level on the planet that a transition is urgently required toward new, more environmentally sustainable models of production and consumption. The World Economic Forum and PwC estimate that almost half of the world economy, which accounts for about $44 trillion every year, relies on the state of the environment. While in 2018, 63% of mineral extraction was replaced through the discovery of new deposits, this figure fell to 32% in 2020, thus indicating the depletion of mineral resources. Further, billions of tons of waste are emitted into the environment annually, which is causing considerable effects. Frequency and intensity of natural disasters increase every year, causing large-scale economic losses and human casualties (fig.1).
Figure 1. Number of registered natural disasters worldwide [1]
It can be witnessed that extreme weather events are intensifying and becoming more frequent, including hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires. One of the driving processes is climate change, and that is greatly human-made through human activities, especially by the emission of greenhouse gases. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global CO>2 emissions from the energy sector increased by 1,1% in 2023, rising by 410 million tons and reaching a new record level of 37,4 Gt. Its structure continues to evolve. Total CO>2 emissions in China exceeded in 2023 that of developed economies by 15% (fig.2).
Figure 2. Total CO>2 emissions by region, 2000—2023, Gt [2]
According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), since 1880, the global temperature has risen about 1,1°C [3]. It was linked with human activities, especially burning fossil fuels and deforestation. If greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, this temperature may increase by another 2,7°C by 2100, which will lead to disastrous consequences: sea-level rise, ecosystem destruction, and an increase in extreme weather conditions.
One of the promising solutions for emerging environmental and climate issues is the so-called circular economy (CE), which is one system that aims at maximum resource use with minimum waste (fig.3).
Figure 3. CE diagram
The concept of the CE is thus that of a closed loop: resources are used several times, and products, when their life cycle is over, are not wasted but recycled and reintroduced into the economic cycle [4]. Unlike the linear model, the CE assumes that materials can be used indefinitely, achieved through extending product life cycles, reusing components, and recycling materials. Transitioning to such a model requires deep transformations across all aspects of economic activity: from product design and production processes to consumer preferences. Moreover, the CE creates conditions for sustainable development by conserving resources for future generations, reducing environmental impact, and increasing economic efficiency through reduced raw material and energy costs.
