Ragn-Sells at COP30: Circularity is the key to future climate solutions

When the UN Climate Conference COP30 was held in Belém, Brazil, Ragn-Sells participated for the fourth time as part of the Swedish delegation alongside companies including IKEA, Tetra Pak, and Alfa Laval. This time the clear goal was to have circularity included in the negotiation protocol as a central part of global climate efforts.

This year’s conference was particularly significant because all countries were required to submit updated national climate plans (NDCs). By giving the circular economy a prominent role, these plans can be significantly strengthened.

Circularity as a climate strategy
Ragn-Sells’ Head of Sustainability, Pär Larshans, and our innovation company EasyMining’s CEO, Jan Svärd, actively participated in discussions, demonstrating how circular processes can contribute to both reduced climate impact and secured access to critical raw materials.

“According to the UN, 55 percent of the world’s climate emissions are due to humanity’s accelerating extraction of virgin raw materials. If we are to meet the emission targets of the Paris Agreement, it is absolutely crucial to increase the share of recycled raw materials. This must happen through measures in every country’s national plan,” says Pär Larshans.

Innovations changing the game
During the conference, we presented five scalable circular processes, with a particular focus on our two phosphorus innovations (Ash2Phos and AQUAPHOENIX).
• Ash2Phos technology enables phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ash and reduces the EU’s dependence on imports from countries such as Russia and Morocco.
• Aqua2N: A process that captures nitrogen from wastewater in a form that can be used directly in mineral fertilizer production. Today, the production of nitrogen fertilizer using traditional methods accounts for two percent of global climate emissions.
• By recovering magnesium from oil shale ash in Estonia, we can help reduce the EU’s dependence on imports from China.

We also showcased our first certified “Climate Solution” according to ERI – Solvent Recycling Solutions – which reduces CO2e emissions by almost 90 percent compared to linear flows.

In addition, we presented the AQUAPHOENIX project, which aims to create a globally scalable solution to:
• Increase fish production by up to three times
• Produce algae, fertilizers, and feed phosphate from fish sludge
• Reduce eutrophication and thereby protect our coasts’ ability to produce food

In a roundtable discussion, we explored how aquaculture can become a solution for future food security. We also demonstrated how today’s wastewater treatment plants can evolve into tomorrow’s resource recovery facilities – a vision driven forward by our innovation company EasyMining. And yes, circularity was included in the final protocol as a mitigating solution to reduce global climate emissions. (Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work program | UNFCCC)

Our hope from COP30
“We leave COP30 with a strong conviction that the circular transition will be recognized as a crucial measure to achieve climate goals. To succeed, political incentives are needed to enable the global scaling of circular processes and for national climate laws to encourage – rather than, as today, hinder – these solutions,” concludes Jan Svärd.

Read more from the UNFCCC preparatory climate meeting on September 6 in Addis Ababa, where we shared knowledge about five different circular processes.

Also see: Agenda: Sixth Global Dialogue and Investment-focused Event - Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme | UNFCCC