Gandhinagar, Sep 14 — Gujarat's capital city, Gandhinagar, will host the first World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) to be held in South Asia, bringing more than 2,000 stakeholders from over 65 countries to the state to discuss resource efficiency, circular finance, innovation and international cooperation.
The forum will be held at Mahatma Mandir from September 15 to 16 under the theme ‘Circular Economy: Transition for People and Prosperity’.
It will be jointly inaugurated on Tuesday by Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Bhupender Yadav, and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The inaugural session will also be attended by state Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Arjun Modhwadia, Ambassador of Finland to India, Mikko Kivikoski, Sitra President Atte Jääskeläinen, Marieke Spijkerboer of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, and senior officials from the Centre and state governments.
The forum is being jointly organised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the Government of Finland, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Gujarat government and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board.
Circular economy practices focus on keeping materials and products in use for longer through reuse, refurbishment and recycling, with the aim of returning them to the economy as valuable resources.
The forum is intended to showcase India’s initiatives in this area while strengthening international cooperation, particularly with countries of the Global South.
The forum will bring together business leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, policymakers, academicians and other stakeholders.
Discussions will focus on mobilising circular finance and private-sector investment, policy dialogue and cross-sector partnerships, as well as innovation, digitalisation and technology for circularity.
The main programme on September 15 and 16 will comprise four plenary sessions and 16 thematic sessions.
The discussions will cover the application of Artificial Intelligence, employment potential, energy generation, finance, governance, sustainable products, industrial solutions, start-up ecosystems and youth leadership.
An international expo at the venue will feature more than 125 national and international exhibitors. It will showcase practical circular-economy solutions developed by start-ups as well as innovations that are ready for investment.
The forum will also coincide with an in-person meeting of the Board of the 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10 YFP) in Gandhinagar on September 15.
India has recently assumed the role of co-chair of the 10 YFP Board, which works to promote sustainable consumption and production.
The wider WCEF programme will continue on September 17 and 18, when global partners are scheduled to organise 80 accelerator sessions in online, hybrid and in-person formats in Gandhinagar and other locations around the world.
Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, is scheduled to attend the closing ceremony on September 16.
Finland’s Minister of Climate and Environment, Sari Multala, Deputy Chief Minister and Industries Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia and Minister of State for Forest and Environment, Pravin Mali, are also expected to attend.
The programme will conclude with the formal handover of the forum to its next host by Sitra’s representative.
The edition is intended to provide a platform for governments, businesses, researchers and other stakeholders to discuss ways of moving from conventional production and consumption models towards systems that make more efficient use of resources and keep materials in circulation.