Transformative circular economy and neoliberal (and anthropocentric) globalisation
in the footsteps of international flows and transport from extraction to waste
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46661/rec.10706Keywords:
productive and commercial globalization, anthropocenic globalization, international transport, material footprint, emissions, transformative circular economy+Abstract
This paper analyses the complex and contradictory relationships between the process of neoliberal globalisation - accelerator of the anthropocene - and the proposals for a transformative circular economy. The process of neoliberal globalisation - driven by finance - of recent decades has expanded international flows and, therefore, transport in all its forms and scales (international and local), with the consequent consumption of materials and energy in its activity, in the production of the stock of equipment, means of transport, infrastructures, accelerating the footprint of materials and emissions. This expansion lies not only in an increase in international trade in raw materials or final goods, but also in the growing global fragmentation of production, the globalisation of consumption patterns, the instant consumption (platforms) and, finally, of post-consumption and waste flows. This article analyses the different dimensions of the material articulation of productive and commercial globalisation from the perspective of transformative CE, paying special attention to the role of international transport (maritime and air) and associated infrastructures, both in terms of CO2 emissions, material footprint, secondary material and waste flows, etc. The current linear economic model must be transformed on the basis of circular economy strategies, which articulate the global and the local on a new basis, overcoming the greening strategies - or simple "green washing" - formulated by the finance-led green growth model.
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