Mubasher: The GCC region can save about $138 billion by 2030 by adopting a circular economic approach, corresponding to about 1% of the region’s cumulative gross domestic product (GDP) from 2020 to 2030, according to a new research.

The existing linear economic model has so far done nothing but accelerate the depletion of the region’s resources, leading to the production of unprecedented waste and emissions, a new report published at the World Government Summit held in Dubai showed.

On the other hand, adopting a circular economic model, inspired from nature’s biological and technical cycles, can improve the value and productivity of material resources and reduce any value leakage, the report explained.

GCC nations have to target their construction sector which generates from 35% to 40% of the region's waste, versus 25% to 30% in the European Union. Focusing on this active sector in the GCC could generate benefits of more than $23 billion between 2020 and 2030.

Circular mobility, which includes decreasing congestion and fuel consumption, can lead to cumulative benefits of $69 billion in the GCC region within the next decade, the report developed in cooperation with the World Government Summit and the Ideation Centre, the think tank for Strategy & Middle East, indicated.  

In addition, encouraging a circular approach within households by cutting the consumption of electricity, water and food can save around $46 billion between 2020 and 2030.

“The region’s households are responsible for the highest consumption of electricity in the world, while their gasoline consumption per capita compares to that of North America, the region with the most intensive usage of gasoline,” partner at Strategy & Middle East Marwan Bejjani said.

The report recommended sourcing renewable materials, improving the consumption of non-renewable resources, dematerialising products through a contract with customers to maintain the product to be replaced or recovered eventually and sharing durable assets.