Ibn-Mohammed, T. and Mustapha, K. and Godsell, J. and Zulfikar, A. and Babatunde, K. and Akintade, D. and Acquaye, Adolf and Fujii, H. and Ndiaye, M. and Yamoah, Fred and Koh, L. (2021) A critical review of the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and ecosystems and opportunities for circular economy strategies. Resources, Conservation & Recycling 164 (105169), ISSN 0921-3449.
|
Text
Accepted_Copy_RCR_RECYCL-D-20-01667R2_R2.pdf - Author's Accepted Manuscript Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on the 11th of March, 2020, but the world is still reeling from its aftermath. Originating from China, cases quickly spread across the globe, prompting the implementation of stringent measures by world governments in efforts to isolate cases and limit the transmission rate of the virus. These measures have however shattered the core sustaining pillars of the modern world economies as global trade and cooperation succumbed to nationalist focus and competition for scarce supplies. Against this backdrop, this paper presents a critical review of the catalogue of negative and positive impacts of the pandemic and proffers perspectives on how it can be leveraged to steer towards a better, more resilient low-carbon economy. The paper diagnosed the danger of relying on pandemic-driven benefits to achieving sustainable development goals and emphasizes a need for a decisive, fundamental structural change to the dynamics of how we live. It argues for a rethink of the present global economic growth model, shaped by a linear economy system and sustained by profiteering and energy-gulping manufacturing processes, in favour of a more sustainable model recalibrated on circular economy (CE) framework. Building on evidence in support of CE as a vehicle for balancing the complex equation of accomplishing profit with minimal environmental harms, the paper outlines concrete sector-specific recommendations on CE-related solutions as a catalyst for the global economic growth and development in a resilient post-COVID-19 world.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | COVID-19, Circular economy, Sustainability, Sustainable development, Supply chain resilience, Climate change |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Business School |
| Depositing User: | Fred Yamoah |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Sep 2020 08:56 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 18:04 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40892 |
Statistics
Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.
Archive Staff Only (login required)
