Introduce circular economy requirements for producers and consumers of emissions-intensive materials

An additional climate solution that could also cut costs is to introduce circular economy requirements for producers and consumers of emissions-intensive materials. Circular economy solutions often result in reduced lifecycle emissions due to the reduced use of virgin materials. Recycling also reduces the emissions from ore mining and transportation of new feedstock. For instance, the emissions intensity of recycled steel can be 86% lower than that of primary steel produced through basic oxygen furnaces. Governments can therefore introduce circular economy requirements for producers and consumers of emissions-intensive materials to decrease virgin material in circulation. These policies can take the form of recycled content mandates for plastic packaging producers or extended producer responsibility requirements for cleaning up end-of-life waste.