At the G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue organised by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Government of Italy, the updated G20 RED Roadmap was officially adopted on 15 November 2021, which outlines a 3-year voluntary path to individually and/or jointly develop a set of concrete activities in specific areas set by the G20 RED such as circular fashion, cities, food waste reduction, sustainable finance, green public procurement.

The G20 members agreed to promote information sharing on national resource efficiency and circular economy targets, as well as on the indicators employed to monitor their achievement, in collaboration with international organisations such as UNEP IRP, OECD and UNIDO.

Consistently with the Naples’ Communiqué, the G20 Countries call for action on sustainable and circular resource use and entrust the G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue (RED) to step up action by sharing information on relevant national indicators, targets and best practices in all these areas to strengthen policy development, and by further developing its portal. Therefore, the G20 continued its work on the update of the Roadmap adopted in Tokyo in 2019. Consistently with Naples’ Communiqué, the G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue (RED) Members met virtually on 19-20 October 2021 to step up actions on sustainable and circular resource use through a renewed three-year roadmap.

The first day of the Event was the occasion for several international organisations such as UNEP IRP, OECD, UNIDO and UNDP to present their views on future priorities on Resource Efficiency and for Japan to present the Third Report on Actions Against Marine Plastic Litter.

The second day of the Event was aimed at stimulating a discussion among G20 RED Members on the first draft of the revised Roadmap circulated by the Italian Presidency including on the themes and priority sectors of the Naples G20 Environmental Ministers Meeting, such as fashion, circular and sustainable cities, inclusion of youth, reference to partnerships and a three-year duration of the Roadmap (2021-2023) in order to give a timeframe to the actions that the various Members propose to undertake on a voluntary basis. Several G20 Members made new proposals and partnerships to actively contribute to the Roadmap objectives.

On Wednesday 13th October 2021, sixteen G20 countries and the European Commission participated in a meeting to discuss cooperation on food waste reduction among the G20.

UNEP convenes Regional Food Waste Working Groups in four regions (Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America & the Caribbean, and West Asia), providing capacity building and facilitating peer-to-peer learning on food waste measurement and reduction to 25 countries. A similar format could be adopted for a G20 food waste working group, responding to specific needs, sharing global best practice, and accelerating action among first movers and across the G20.

A member state has expressed interest in taking a leading role in this working group, securing its position on the G20 RE Dialogue agenda and providing continuity across G20 presidencies, to be confirmed.

A summary of the meeting and relevant slides can be found below:

The Italian G20 Environment Presidency dedicated the first G20 RED meeting on the synergies between concepts of circular economy, resource efficiency and food waste reduction. A specific session was reserved for government representatives.

The first session focused on preventing food waste through more conscious consumption. Representatives from China, Australia, Italy, Brazil, Canada and the United Kingdom illustrated best practices to prevent food waste; Saudi Arabia provided updates on national initiatives.

G20 Delegates also discussed the proposals set forth by Chair Laura D'Aprile as to possible actions the G20 could undertake on “Circular Fashion” and “Food Waste Prevention”. Delegates discussed current policies and several proposed solutions, voluntary agreements and future regulatory frameworks on the subject. Prevention and reduction of food waste requires coordination between various levels of national and international governments, and the private sector.

On 7 June 2021, the Italian G20 Presidency and the EU organised an online workshop on Circular Fashion to inform discussions in the G20. The workshop explored the G20’s role in promoting the circular economy in the fashion sector. It also explored how circular business models can help the fashion sector improve economic, environmental and social performance, with industry experts and policy makers from across the world.

An EU G20 online workshop on “Measures to address marine plastic leakage through a circular economy approach” was organised by the European Commission on 8 September 2020. It contributed to G20 work to address marine litter (G20 Marine Litter Action Plan), in particular marine plastic litter (G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter). It followed up on the G20 workshop organised in 2019 by Japan, the EU and the USA, and has been one of the EU’s contributions to the efforts of Saudi Arabia’s 2020 Presidency of the G20 for safeguarding the Planet, in particular the marine environment.

Japan/EU Joint Networking on Marine Plastic Litter was held in Tokyo, Japan, on 8 October 2019. The purpose of this event was to provide technical contributions to G20 members’ activities to address marine plastic litter, by specifying challenges on the scientific knowledge and discussing of promotion framework, including innovative solution for marine plastic litter. Furthermore, it aimed to introduce activities in the Business Sectors to the G20 Officials and provide an opportunity to facilitate exchange and cooperation among them.