The circular economy is one possible response to the challenges posed by a growing population and consumer pressure on natural resources. Circular-economy thinking relies on the important geographical concepts of systems, sustainability and interdependence.
Climate change, along with water, food and energy insecurity, poses a risk to the existence of humanity. The Earth’s fixed and sometimes finite stock of natural resources is being depleted in wasteful ways by a global population which continues to grow in size and affluence. The pessimism of the 1970s ‘limits to growth’ model is grounded in views such as these (Figure 1). It shows population, industrial output and pollution ramping upwards as natural resources dwindle. This catastrophic scenario leads ultimately to a population ‘crash’.
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