Revidering av EUs klimalov

Høringsuttalelsen

Sirk Norge (the Norwegian Recycling and Circular Economy Association) fully supports the proposed Union 2040 climate target. Several EU countries are already lagging behind on the 2030 targets.

Several EU countries are already lagging behind on their 2030 targets. A stringent 2040 target will help ensure that countries uphold their national efforts to cut emissions, rather than delaying action and postponing transitions in favor of the Effort Sharing Regulation.

The waste management sector plays a vital role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Waste incineration currently accounts for significant national emissions that are hard to abate. Even in a highly circular economy where materials are reused and recycled more effectively than today there will still be a need to incinerate certain non-recyclable or hazardous wastes.

In Norway, the first large-scale carbon capture plant (DACCS) is now under construction at a waste incineration facility. This CCS plant, which is integrated into the EU ETS, is designed to remove emissions from the atmosphere in cooperation with international partners.

It is therefore imperative for the waste management industry that the EU establishes binding climate targets between 2030 and 2050. Without such commitments, the motivation and accountability to deliver carbon reductions will weaken at all levels: company; sectoral; and national. This, in turn, will undermine the value chain transitions needed to reduce emissions related to resource extraction, production, use, and end-of-life treatment.

A successful climate transition depends on a successful circular transition. And that circular transition must be largely driven by the waste management industry. By supplying secondary raw materials to the European circular economy, the industry can significantly reduce emissions. Increased use of secondary materials will help avoid greenhouse gas emissions associated with the destruction of ecosystems and use of fossil fuels in primary material extraction.

However, the waste management industry continues to face challenges in overcoming market failures and achieving profitability for circular solutions that provide secondary materials. Waste markets are highly international and interconnected across borders. As long as the circular transition remains a secondary effect of climate policy—rather than a central component—a lack of ambitious climate goals will also mean a failure to scale up the circular economy.