Closed-Loop Economy – Development Priority

Abstract

The paper analyzes theoretical foundations of the concept of the closed-loop economy, reveals the principles of the circular economy using the example of the steel industry, and studies the experience of the People's Republic of China in “greening” the economy, considers the consequences of economization for the China's ecosystem and the main provisions of the China's “ecological civilization”, and gives the structure of the China's circular economy. The purpose of the study is to analyze the implementation of the concept of a circular economy in the steel industry using the example of the Chinese economy. Materials and methods. The paper analyzes the theoretical basis of the concept of sustainable development and circular economy. Based on the study of statistical data, information presented on the official websites of organizations, a review of scientific literature, the practice of applying the principles of closed-loop economy in the steel industry was revealed, and the main areas of its implementation in the development of the Chinese economy were studied. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: synthesis, analysis, comparison, generalization. The results of the study. The paper considers the sustainable development of the world economy through the prism of implementing a “green” economy course, in achieving the goals of which the concept of a closed-loop economy (circular economy) is applicable. Based on the analysis of approaches to defining the term “circular economy”, the principles of the concept of “circular economy” are revealed in detail: reduction, recovery, reuse and recycling. Today, the leading industry in implementing this approach is the steel industry, and China is demonstrating noticeable results in implementing circular economy approaches. These served as the basis for revealing the practice of implementing the concept of “circular economy” using the experience of the PRC. In this regard, the concept of “ecological civilization” of the country under study, which is focused on smoothing out the consequences of the economization of the Chinese economy, is considered, the regulatory framework for “greening” the Chinese economy and the structure of the circular economy of this country are given. Conclusions. Achieving sustainable development of any economy involves the introduction of the principles of “green” economy, which is implemented also through the concept of a closed-loop economy. Depending on the specifics of the industry, the introduction of elements of the circular economy is carried out at different rates and on different scales. The experience of the world's leading economies, for example, that of China, confirms that the creation of an "environmental initiative" should become a strategic necessity for the socio-economic development of any country in the world. “Green” turn of the global economy will lead to significant changes in its structure, which will certainly be of interest to the scientific community in terms of tracking its trends and forecasting possible scenarios for further development.