EU

Are Mediterranean countries making progress towards Circular Economy?

A new set of factsheets aims to facilitate communication on progress achieved by Mediterranean countries on the Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Regional Action Plan.

Published on Thursday 19 August 2021· POLICY

In February 2016, the 21 countries that are Parties to the Barcelona Convention (for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Region of the Mediterranean), adopted the Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP- RAP), the first intergovernmental agreement in the Mediterranean basin to establish a ten-year roadmap (2016-2027) to promote the shift towards a more sustainable and circular economy.

In order to monitor the progress towards SCP in the Mediterranean, the countries adopted a set of SCP indicators in December 2017. These indicators are structured among six thematic areas in addition to a macro-indicators section. They were mainly selected among available international indicators, particularly SDG indicators and they are complementing the Mediterranean Sustainability Dashboard of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD).

In order to carry out the indicator-based mid-term evaluation of the SCP Regional Action Plan, SwitchMed reviewed the progress on each of the selected indicators and updated the SCP indicators list. Likewise, it has prepared a set of 30 factsheets that include graphs and maps, and provides an analysis of the current situation for each of the selected indicators.

Here are some examples of indicators that you can find under each thematic area:
1. Land use: food waste, sustainable forest management
2. Water efficiency: water resources management
3. Energy efficiency: renewable energy share, fossil-fuel subsidies
4. Pollution: international agreements on pollution, wastewater safely treated.
5. Resource efficiency: material footprint, sustainable fisheries.
6. Behaviour (Producers and Consumers): sustainable public procurement, green patents or plastic waste generation.
7. Macro-indicators: carbon footprint (GHG emissions), water footprint or green growth dynamism.

So if you are wondering “In which countries is organic agriculture growing the most?” or “Are CO2 emissions increasing or decreasing in the Mediterranean region?”, have a look at these factsheets to find the latest available data on these issues.

The 30 SCP indicator factsheets are available in English here and in French here.

Finally, SCP/RAC has partnered with the Mediterranean Observatory on Environment and Sustainable Development, managed by Plan Bleu. The SCP indicators’ list is fully complementary with the Mediterranean Sustainability Dashboard (2016-2025), so both sets of factsheets are available in the Mediterranean Observatory’s website, in English here and in French here.

If you are wondering “In which countries is organic agriculture growing the most?” or “Are CO2 emissions increasing or decreasing in the Mediterranean region?”, have a look at these factsheets to find the latest available data on these issues.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE