Circular Economy and Decarbonisation: Synergies and Trade-offs (CEDC)

The project aimed to better understand the implications of decarbonisation (DC) on material demand and the contribution of a circular economy (CE) to achieving carbon neutrality by analysing different scenarios in a combined physical and economic modelling approach. The CE is understood as a concept that focuses firstly on reducing, secondly on slowing down, and thirdly on closing loops of resource flows. To achieve a high-quality stock-flow scenario analysis, the scope of our analysis was limited to the building, transport (passenger and freight) and electricity sectors. The interlinking of the physical scenario results with the WIFO.DYNK model and the correlated economic simulations showed that DC combined with a strong CE is advantageous in terms of value-added and employment effects compared to a combination of DC with a weak CE if the economy is restructured and directed towards a service-oriented economy.