Ragn-Sells advocates new approach to waste at UN Climate Change Conference COP28

The environmental company Ragn-Sells will attend the UN climate summit COP28, once again as a part of the Swedish delegation. The goal is to showcase how the transition to a circular economy is essential to mitigating climate change, something that requires an entirely new attitude towards waste.

– By just doubling the share of recycled materials in the global economy, we would keep global warming under two degrees Celsius, according to the UN. At COP28, we want to inspire others to see circularity as an important tool to tackle the climate crisis, and show that change is possible, says Pär Larshans, Director of Sustainability at Ragn-Sells Group.

United Nations’ annual Climate Change Conference is called COP28 this year, taking place in Dubai in early December. Ragn-Sells will participate in the Swedish delegation led by Business Sweden, joining around thirty other parties, including Northvolt, Volvo, and IKEA. Lars Lindén, CEO of Ragn-Sells Group, will participate in a panel during the inauguration of the Swedish pavilion, kicked off by representatives from the Swedish government and climate scientist Johan Rockström.

According to the UN, the extraction and processing of virgin materials account for about 50 percent of climate change. Consequently, an economy built on recycled materials to a greater extent than today is key to all efforts towards a climate neutral society. At the same time, current laws and regulations based on a traditional, linear economy often impairs the use of waste as a sustainable source of raw materials.

– By reducing the use of virgin materials, we give ourselves the opportunity to win the fight towards climate change. In order to succeed, it has to be easier to extract raw materials from waste than straight from the crust of the earth, which requires a whole new attitude towards waste. This is something that we will discuss at COP28, says Mr. Larshans.

Ragn-Sells will organise and participate in over ten seminars and panels, including at the Swedish pavilion, with the Nordic Council of Ministers, the International Chamber of Commerce, and at the Estonian Pavilion. This will include cooperation and conversations with a number of Swedish and foreign ministers, as well as the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, who will participate in a session about the energy supply needed for the transition to a sustainable society. On top of this, a host of bilateral meetings about circularity and climate is scheduled.

A strong focus will be on the need to make use of waste as sustainable source for the nutrients needed for mineral fertilisers, instead of extracting them from virgin sources. Ragn-Sells’s technologies for producing phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater, as well as potassium from waste incineration residue, makes it possible to cultivate more food for the world’s growing population without accelerating climate change.

COP28 will take place from 30 November to 12 December.

For more information, interviews, and comments before, during, and after COP28, please contact:
Pär Larshans, Director of Sustainability, Ragn-Sells Group, +46 (0)70-927 29 63, par.larshans@ragnsells.com 
Emma Ranerfors, Press Officer, Ragn-Sells Group, +46 (0)10-723 24 16, press@ragnsells.com

Fact box: Circularity and climate

• According to the UN, the extraction and processing of natural resources account for about 50 percent of climate change, 90 percent of biodiversity loss, and 90 percent of the threat to access to water.
• Doubling the circular share of the global economy, in combination with countries fulfilling their obligations under the Paris Agreement, would keep global warming to well under two degrees Celsius, according to the UN-backed Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative.
  
  

Fact box: COP28

• The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an annual international climate summit.
• This year, COP28 is held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
• The meeting takes place from 30 November to 12 December.
• During the yearly COP meetings, all countries who signed up to the Paris Agreement in 2015 negotiate solutions for tackling climate change.