THE IMPACT OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY ON GHG EMISSIONS AND GDP IN INDIA

Abstract

India's transition towards circular economy is pivotal in achieving sustainable development goals-12, decent economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This study investigates the role of circular economy in facilitating responsible behavior towards consumption and production, managing and reducing all types of waste generations in rural and urban area in India, focusing on its integration into industrial processes and the broader economic and environmental impacts. The research explores the future aspects of GHG and GDP after including circular practices in the industries through implication of policies such as extended producer responsibility(EPR). The study analyzes data from the UNEP-International Resource Panel, and World Bank. The dissertation reveals the importance of combining circularity in the major industries to increase the productivity and increase the material efficiency. The concept of a circular economy, which emphasizes waste prevention, product life extension, resource recovery, and closed-loop systems, offers a transformative approach to decouple economic growth from resource consumption and environmental harm. The findings underscore the importance of supportive policies, investment incentives, and technological innovations in scaling circular economic model adoption. The forecasted GHG and GDP for 2070 is 14391 MtCO₂e and Rs. 3,020 lakh crore respectively after taking DMC at 2% annual growth rate, Co2 from waste at 3% and Material Productivity at 3% based on historical trend. But after taking these independent variables at different annual growth assuming circularity in India we have different forecasted values of GHG (9930 MtCO₂e) and GDP (3050 lakh crore) then before, indicating circular economy has positive impact on both dependent variables.