Status: 03/29/2022 12:48 p.m
According to the Environment Minister, products should serve as a new source of raw materials instead of ending up in the garbage. The federal government wants to launch a corresponding strategy for this.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke is aiming for a much more efficient use of resources. At an event on the agenda of the G7 and G20 states in Berlin, the Green politician warned that if consumption did not change fundamentally worldwide, neither the climate targets would be achieved nor the loss of biodiversity stopped.
The Greens politician announced that the federal government would adopt a strategy for the circular economy. “This is intended to reduce Germany’s consumption of primary raw materials and efficiently close material cycles,” said Lemke. She did not initially give a specific date.
It’s basically about “obtaining resources as sustainably as possible, using them sparingly and keeping them in circulation for as long as possible”. Products must be designed in such a way that they do not become waste and primarily serve as a source of raw materials for new products. “Nature knows no waste,” said Lemke.
“A Question of Global Justice”
Germany has made resource efficiency a priority for its G7 presidency this year. Lemke said that the economies of the G7 countries are responsible for a large part of the global consumption of resources. In addition to Germany, the G7 group also includes Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the USA and Great Britain.
About half of all global greenhouse gas emissions and 90 percent of species extinction and water shortages can be traced back to the extraction and processing of resources, said Lemke, referring to international studies. “Three planets would be necessary if everyone in the world consumed like we do in Germany.” More thrift is also “a question of global justice”.
Lemke also emphasized the connection to the current Russian war of aggression in Ukraine: The war had clearly shown Germany’s dependence on raw materials. This is one of the reasons why more efficient use of resources is needed, said the minister.