Coupling Nexus and Circular Economy to Decouple Carbon Emissions from Economic Growth

Mohammed Sakib Uddin, Khaled Mahmud, Bijoy Mitra, Al-Ekram Elahee Hridoy, Syed Masiur Rahman (), Md Shafiullah (), Md. Shafiul Alam, Md. Ismail Hossain and Mohammad Sujauddin
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Mohammed Sakib Uddin: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh
Khaled Mahmud: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh
Bijoy Mitra: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh
Al-Ekram Elahee Hridoy: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Syed Masiur Rahman: Applied Research Center for Environment & Marine Studies, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Md Shafiullah: Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Md. Shafiul Alam: Applied Research Center for Environment & Marine Studies, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Md. Ismail Hossain: Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Sujauddin: Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Experts have been searching for ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change on resources since the early 20th century. In response, the World Economic Forum introduced the concept of a “nexus”, which involves the simultaneous, systematic collaboration of multiple individuals or sectors, such as water, energy, and food, in order to create an integrated approach to reducing resource scarcity through a multi-disciplinary framework. In contrast, a circular economy (CE) involves restructuring material flows from a linear economic system and closing the loop on resource exploitation. Both the nexus and CE have been developed to address the overexploitation of resources, but they also contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and decouple carbon emissions from economic growth. This study explores the potential of combining the nexus and CE to pursue the SDGs on a global scale. Our findings reveal significant research gaps and policy implementation challenges in developing countries, as well as the potential consequences of adopting integrative scenarios. Finally, we propose a system dynamics model as a way to address the difficulties of coupling policies and to better understand the interdependencies between different parts of the economy.

Keywords: carbon emissions; circular economy; modeling; renewable energy; sustainable development; system dynamics; water–energy–food nexus; water energy footprint (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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