A webinar organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and Geneva Trade Platform and hosted by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Centre for Trade and Economic Integration explored circular economy opportunities arising from value chains, trade, and trade facilitation in transition economies in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Western Balkans.
The webinar convened on 8 December, as part of the World Circular Economy Forum, on the theme, ‘Promoting Circularity in Transition Economies: The Role of Trade and Economic Cooperation.’ The event served as a platform for representatives from UNECE programme countries to share success stories and exchange perspectives and lessons learned.
Elisabeth Tuerk, Director, Economic Cooperation and Trade, UNECE, moderated the session.
Olga Algayerova, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, UNECE, offered opening remarks. She noted that by 2050, the world will have 9 billion people to feed, while at the same time providing access to sustainable energy, tackling climate change, and promoting resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainability. Highlighting the role of effective economic cooperation, Algayerova said transition to a circular economy “will bring us closer to the SDGs” and promote a thriving economy to benefit everyone. She underscored the importance of capacity building through the exchange of best practices and lessons learned to enable circular pathways in transition economies.
Kreshnik Bekteshi, Minister of Economy, North Macedonia, discussed North Macedonia’s efforts to promote more sustainable production, consumption, and waste management. He highlighted strategic objectives and policies to support a circular approach in trade, the greening of industries and sectors, and better environmental performance of processes and products. Bekteshi outlined a national programme for competitiveness and entrepreneurship, which supports companies’ efforts to adopt circular economy principles through, among others, recycling, remanufacturing, and waste prevention and management. He underscored his country’s commitment to a “cleaner world” and environmental protection at the national and regional levels.
Nino Tandilashvili, Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture, Georgia, underscored the need to ensure sustainable development for the sake of future generations, and stressed the role of international collaboration in achieving a green and sustainable recovery from COVID-19. She noted that circular economy is crucial for achieving climate-friendly development and creating new jobs, and reported that Georgia is focusing on sectors with high potential for circular economy. Tandilashvili reported on national regulations to strengthen environmental governance, and highlighted the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in reducing waste and pollution.
Olzhas Sartayev, CEO, Special Economic Zone, ‘Park of Innovative Technologies,’ Almaty, Kazakhstan, described policies, efforts, and initiatives that seek to promote green growth in Kazakhstan. He highlighted, inter alia, his country’s concept strategy for transition to a green economy, and the recently established ministry dedicated to the environment and ecology. Sartayev reported on efforts to promote circularity in Almaty in transport, agriculture, construction, industry, and waste, among other sectors. He highlighted the role of active citizenship and the importance of innovation to foster transition to a circular economy.
Aleksandra Vucinic, Head, Group for Circular and Green Economy, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Serbia, said her country has achieved partial transition from linear to circular economy, stressing the need to include the concept in all sectors for full implementation. She outlined challenges recognized in a 2018 gap analysis, and noted that a 2020 roadmap for circular economy in Serbia seeks to motivate industry to create new jobs and find sustainable market solutions. Vucinic reported on existing and planned strategies and programmes directed at promoting circular economy in industry, public procurement, production, and waste management. Noting that “regulation does not follow strategic documents,” she stressed the need for more laws to support implementation and for improved public awareness.
Marianne Kettunen, Principal Policy Analyst and Head of Programme, Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), addressed the role trade can play in supporting transition to circular economy. She identified key elements of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, developed as part of the European Green Deal, including expanded sector coverage. She said the Action Plan provides a policy framework for sustainable products and production standards, and provides options for trade partners to cooperate, noting decreasing demand for raw materials among the challenges.
Kettunen highlighted the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) efforts to promote circular economy as a tool to support green recovery, including discussions during the WTO Trade and Environment Week and the launch of structured discussions on trade and environmental sustainability. She recommended that in their efforts to achieve circularity, transition economies go beyond recycling, and build on trade relationships with the EU and on regional initiatives.
During discussion, participants addressed, among other issues:
tools to identify competitive areas for promoting circular economy;
ways to stimulate circularity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
challenges in waste recycling; and
ways to reconcile circular economy with international trade rules.
In closing, Tuerk identified scope for more work, and urged approaching circular economy from national, international, regional, and city perspectives.
The webinar was organized with support from the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. The discussions contributed to the preparations for the 69th Commission session of UNECE member States to be held in April 2021 under the theme, ‘Promoting Circular Economy and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in the UNECE Region.’ [Webinar Recording] [UNECE Event Webpage] [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
