This book explores the role of law and policy in circular economy
transitions and their impacts on justice, including on distributional
equity and recognition and procedural rights, especially for people
already marginalised under the current dominant economic system.
Amid increasing demand for virgin raw materials, and unsustainable
consumption and waste disposal that are driving the global ecological
and climate crisis, there are growing calls to urgently transition to
circular economies. Despite an increasing number of circular approaches
being adopted, implemented, and integrated in national and local laws
and policies, the number of commercially successful business stories
remains isolated. Moreover, questions about whether circular economy
laws and policies are delivering fair and just global outcomes need to
be addressed. This book examines this significant knowledge gap to
understand legal experiences, including justice and equity issues in the
global context, so that these can inform wider design and
implementation. The book begins by explaining the concept of a circular
economy and its context within wider issues of sustainable development
and justice. The first part of the book then examines the legal context
of the circular economy by analysing legal forms in practice and those
recommended in wider scholarship before considering how these could
impact on existing inequity and injustices globally. The second part
delivers an empirical understanding of the implications of the law on
circular economy approaches and the global equity and justice dimensions
through two case studies on solid waste management and forestry. The
final part addresses legal opportunities and challenges for wider
implementation of circular economy approaches that incorporate justice
into its framing.
This book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and
practitioners of environmental and natural resource law and policy,
circular economy, industrial ecology, natural resource management, and
sustainable development more broadly.
