SHARM EL-SHEIKH — King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) launched the second edition of the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) Index at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, during an event entitled “Measuring Performance and Enablers for Net-Zero Transition Worldwide”.

“The CCE is a concept that is dear to us at KAPSARC because we truly believe in its value in promoting effective net-zero transitions. The CCE draws the attention to the need to manage energy and carbon flows holistically, each country and actor based on its strengths and priorities.” , Dr. Fahad M. Alturki, KAPSARC’s Vice-President of Knowledge and Analysis said.

The CCE concept was also endorsed by the G20 in 2020 as a holistic and inclusive approach for managing and reducing carbon emissions. The CCE is based on four Rs: it adds ‘remove’ to the three well-known Rs of reducing, recycling and reusing.

At the launch, Alturki highlighted that, in the 2022 edition, the number of countries included in the Index has been increased from 30 to 64, and it now covers approximately 90% of the world’s economy and carbon dioxide emissions.

In the 2022 edition, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, top the CCE Index. At the bottom are five Sub-Saharan African countries. The gap between these top and bottom performers is notable, which indicates that countries toward the end of the list in particular will be in need of significant assistance to be able to successfully transition to CCEs.

In the area of CCE Performance, many countries are not yet deploying some of the most important technologies necessary for achieving full carbon circularity. Compared with the 2021 CCE Index, 57 countries improved their total CCE Index scores in 2022, while seven saw a deterioration in their scores.

Fatih Yilmaz, Fellow in the Climate and Sustainability Program at KAPSARC and one of co-authors of the CCE Index, noted that, for many countries, the most the challenging task for successful transitions will be how to address the large gaps in enabling factors and conditions in areas like technology and access to sustainable finance.

Thamir Alshehri, Research Lead in KAPSARC'S Climate and Sustainability Program and one of the co-authors of the Index, explained that the Index is a data-based tool aimed to support policymakers in developing carbon management and other mitigation polices, through its focus on how countries perform today on different CCE technologies and activities, and how much potential they have to accelerate their transitions toward carbon circularity and net-zero emissions.

For her part, Mari Luomi, Research Fellow at KAPSARC and the CCE Index project lead, added: “We hope that, with the expanded country coverage, the CCE Index can provide a new lens, and concrete quantitative metrics for countries worldwide to examine their net-zero transitions, to identify strengths and weaknesses, challenges and opportunities, and to manage these so that we can all collectively achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement for a prosperous climate-safe future.”