The consequences of climate change are one of the most pressing problems facing humanity!
In view of the increasing consequences of climate change, such as drought and flooding, many countries are facing the challenge of finding sustainable, resilient solutions to the growing climate problems. The International Circular Economy Week offered a wide range of answers and practical examples to the pressing issues of our time. Under the title ‘Frontiers in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation:
Net-Zero Strategies for Industries and Municipalities’, the event format has been a recognised platform for global professional exchange between business, politics and science for 15 years now.
During the event week from 4 – 8 November, participants were able to find out about, exchange and discuss the latest advances in the application of the circular economy. The guests were offered an extensive programme of visits to innovative and successfully operated technology plants. Starting at the Zero Emission Campus Birkenfeld, the programme took them to ZAK – Central Waste Management Kaiserslautern, Stadtwerke Trier and Energielandschaft Morbach, to name but a few. The highlight of the week of events is always the International Circular Economy Conference, which took place on Wednesday, 6 November 2024. The conference featured a series of specialist presentations on international initiatives, funding programmes, technologies and best practice examples. After the welcome address, Prof. Dr Peter Heck, host and Managing Director of the Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS), introduced the day’s topics in his presentation, emphasising in particular the necessity and importance of a profound change in the way we do business. He used practical examples from around the world to explain how this can work, showing that the circular economy and the avoidance of greenhouse gases are economically feasible and socially acceptable. He was followed by many other specialised lectures, which presented international technologies, networks, financing concepts and projects. Around 140 participants from 20 countries took up the IfaS invitation to attend this year’s conference at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld, Germany’s greenest university. After the conference, the participants had the opportunity to make new contacts, exchange expertise and initiate joint projects over a festive dinner.
The International Circular Economy Week is a co-operation between the Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS) and the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy and Mobility with the support of the Rhineland-Palatinate environmental technology network Ecoliance e.V.
A more detailed review of the conference programme is available at www.icew.de.