Reducing Community Carbon Footprint by a Circular Economy Approach in the Republic of Serbia Reducing Community Carbon Footprint by a Circular Economy Approach in the Republic of Serbia Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency. The experiences both in the EU and globally have shown that moving from a linear to circular economy can play a major role in boosting the economy, creating new jobs and promoting social equality, while at the same time generating global environmental benefits by better resource efficiency and consequent reduction of the use of earth’s non-renewable resources. As concluded by the new Circular Economy Action Plan published by the EU in 2020, moving increasingly towards circular economy has the potential in the EU to increase its GDP by an additional 0.5% by 2030 and create 700,000 new jobs. By putting this into the perspective within the Serbian Economy, the GDP of Serbia in 2020 was about 53 billion US dollars, so a 0,5% increase of this would correspond to about 265 million US dollars, while with a similar ratio the amount of new jobs created by circular economy in Serbia has been estimated by OECD to be in the range of 30,000[1]For private companies, moving to circular economy can provide new business opportunities, boost their profitability by better resource efficiency and making them less vulnerable to price fluctuations and possible supply disruptions of imported raw materials. For consumers, moving to circular economy should mean more reliable and long - lasting high quality products with lower life-cycle costs, thereby addressing also social equality aspects. While it is clear that the GEF supported project is just one part of a broader attempt to support the transfer of the Serbian economy from the current largely linear one to a more circular type, it will by supporting new CE pilot initiatives, training different professional groups and decision makers and raising awareness also directly contribute to and benefit hundreds or even thousands people in Serbia and providing and training and capacity At the municipal level, innovative solutions related to waste reduction, reuse and recycling will contribute to the achievement of local waste management targets, closure of illegal dumpsites (app. 2,500 of them throughout Serbia) and expand the lifetime of landfills. In turn, this will reduce waste management related costs in municipal budgets by turning waste into a resource for businesses and reduce pollution. The project will also foster collaboration between municipalities and companies involved in waste related businesses (waste operators) by increasing the share of recyclable materials available at the local markets. In return, this will increase the employment opportunities, in particular for vulnerable groups such as the Roma population with related social benefits, By incentivising the circular economy based business models and by setting up the secondary raw materials stock market, the project will boost the creation of start-ups and SMEs interested to operate in some part of the product life cycle from resource recovery to manufacturing, distribution, reparation, reuse and recycling. Serbia would be given a chance for development by the model of the circular economy, and according to that its citizens will have ecological security, "green" jobs, new water and air quality, healthy food and a new quality of life. The nation‘s social capital is also an investment for future. The project support to decarbonization solutions based on circular economy principles will also contribute to the “Just Transition” [2] efforts of the Paris Agreement in Serbia through prequalification of the workforce and diversification of local economies. Also, the promotion of innovative low-carbon technologies and business models will increase the demand for reskilling. This trend will trigger the transformational shift of the educational systems in order to better respond to the market needs for clean, green and fossil-free products and services. Since Serbia is part of the European Commission Initiative for coal regions in transition in the Western Balkans, the project will assist the Government to create the Just Transition Roadmap and accompanying incentive schemes for accelerating labour market transformation. This will assist Serbia in mobilizing additional financing to support green transition. In addition, the project activities will contribute directly to mobilizing additional funding from both, public and private sectors, as well as commercial borrowing, needed to attain the global climate mitigation targets embedded into the NDCs. Serbia’s draft revised NDC document proposes an increase of the economy-wide climate ambition from 9,8% (as expressed by Serbia’s INDC) to 33,3% of GHG emission reduction by 2030 compared to the 1990 levels. Such a significant increase will require the mobilization of additional funding for new technologies and low-carbon business models in all sectors of the economy. In this way, Serbia will be able to actively contribute to the achievement of the Paris Agreement targets, while at the same time boosting the national economy. By moving towards circular economy, the project will also assist Serbia in contributing to SDGs with related socio-economic benefits such as goal 13 on Climate Action, goal 7 by increasing the energy efficiency rates; goal 9 by increasing the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets; goal 12 by achieving the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources and substantially reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse; and goal 11 by promoting sustainable urban development and reducing the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.        [1] Source:Circular economy as a chance for the development of Serbia”, OSCE, 2016 https://www.osce.org/sr/serbia/292311?download=true)      [2] https://www.ituc-csi.org/just-transition-in-the-paris