This report analyzes documents and formats focusing on resource efficiency, resource conservation and the circular economy at the German, European and international level. It outlines significant developments and expected trends in resource policy and identifies research needs. Given the rapid increase in global resource use, driven by population growth and economic expansion, the transition to a resource-efficient and circular economy is a key challenge. This need is reinforced by various global crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and increasing resource dependency. The report emphasizes that innovative and effective policies are needed at both national and international levels to promote and implement this transition.

The event offered a collaborative platform for representatives from diverse sectors including industry, business, civil society, and policy. At this one-day workshop, the research team presented a stocktake of the latest research on sectoral and macro-economic climate risks and impacts, costs and benefits and potential for adaptation.

This study aims to support the Advisory Board in providing policy-relevant recommendations on how to increase adaptation efforts and enhance the resilience of the EU against climate change impacts. Ecologic Institute is coordinating the work on global and EU level policy processes on adaptation.

The Assessing Climate Change Risk in EUrope (ACCREU) project aims to support a just transition to climate resilience in the EU by co-creating and delivering actionable ideas and new knowledge. This project brings together diverse stakeholders to address climate change adaptation and mitigation in the face of new social and environmental challenges.

The study "Macro-economic / top-down assessment of climate impacts on the EU economy" by Ramboll, SEURECO and Ecologic Institute aims to assist the Commission by providing a solid assessment of the costs of climate impacts in the EU, with a particular focus on the economic and social (distributional) costs which, according to the existing scientific evidence, could be potentially very significant.

Global extraction of primary raw materials has been growing continuously for decades, and absolute decoupling between economic growth and resource consumption, let alone environmental impacts associated with the use of natural resources, has not yet been achieved. Although political attention for the issues of resource efficiency, resource conservation and the circular economy has been high for some years at on the international, European and national level, scientific studies call for more ambitious policy approaches in order to achieve global sustainability goals and respecting planetary boundaries in the long term. It therefore appears necessary to further develop resource policies at international and national level.