CMCC at EAERE 2025
The 30th Annual Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE 2025), whose Secretariat is managed by the CMCC Foundation, will take place on June 16-19, 2025, at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in Bergen, Norway. The afternoon will be dedicated to Science-Policy-Business and Thematic sessions.
The following sessions, organized and moderated by Eugénie Joltreau, Researcher at CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, will (1) delve into rebound effects linked to resource efficiency measures and circular economy strategies and (2) explore policy frameworks for advancing a sustainable circular economy across environmental challenges.
POLICY SESSION
Title: Rebound Effects from Circular Economy Practices: Pathways and Policy Options
When: Monday 16 June, 2:30-3:30pm
Description: This session will delve into rebound effects linked to resource efficiency measures and circular economy strategies. While resource efficiency and technology advancements aim to deliver environmental benefits, they can sometimes trigger behaviours or economic changes that diminish or negate these gains. For example, resource-saving policies and corporate initiatives, despite their potential benefits, can result in rebound effects that lead to increased consumption. These effects can stem from market dynamics, business and consumer behaviour, or social practices. The first part of the session will concentrate on examining the mechanisms driving rebound effects. This requires analysis at multiple levels, including individual consumers, businesses, markets, and society, using diverse methodologies such as general and partial equilibrium models, life cycle assessment, field research, dynamic simulation models, and empirical studies. The second part will shift to identifying effective policies and public engagement strategies to mitigate these effects. Researchers will also share techniques for disseminating findings through online tools, stakeholder engagement, and public events.
Overall Objectives:
- Mobilise interest from the audience for rebound effects induced by circular economy actions. In economics, the rebound effects of energy are well studied, but the rebound effects of the circular economy remain underexplored.
- Discuss concrete political levers and actions to mitigate the rebound effects of circular practices, showcasing research and digital tools developed by European research institutions and research organisations supported through EU-funded projects.
Speakers:
- Eugénie JOLTREAU, CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
- Imke VAN DER LOO, Technical University of Denmark
- Roberto PASQUALINO, Joint Research Centre
- Juliana SUBTIL and Ioannis BAKAS, European Environment Agency
THEMATIC SESSION
Title: Policy frameworks for advancing a sustainable circular economy across environmental challenges
When: Tuesday 17 June, 4:15-6:00 pm
Description: The circular economy (CE) intersects multiple environmental challenges. It is expected to ease the pressure on resource extraction, thereby protecting biodiversity; support the feasibility of a materials-intensive energy transition, and lower emissions by reducing resource consumption, thus combating climate change. Finally, reducing waste and designing environmentally friendly products should lower levels of pollution.
For these reasons, the European Commission considers the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan—addressing waste recycling and product design—one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal. To achieve these environmental objectives simultaneously, public policies must consider their interconnections and be carefully designed as a cohesive package, given that policies influence one another.
The session highlights key market mechanisms, policy mix, and trade-offs in advancing circularity across environmental dimensions and scales, featuring insights from four innovative studies.
Speakers:
- Miao Dai – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute
- Darius Corbier – CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
- Julie Metta – Tilburg University, KU Leuven
- Eugénie Joltreau – CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
Discussion structure: The contributed session will be chaired by Eugénie Joltreau and it will consist of four presentations addressing two key policy and research questions:
- How can policy instruments, such as fiscal incentives and market-based mechanisms, optimise the balance between climate mitigation and circular economy objectives while minimising unintended trade-offs, such as increased emissions or carbon leakage?
- What are the key economic and regulatory conditions under which circular economy strategies, such as recycling incentives, repair policies, and resource efficiency measures, effectively reduce material use and emissions at both micro and macro levels?
The Conference will take place in person, with a portfolio of online events as part of the programme.
Online participation is available to attend these two sessions as well as other plenary, thematic, and Science-Policy-Business sessions.
Registration is required for both in-person and online participation, and should be made through the conference website: https://eaere-conferences.org/index.php?p=468
Please note that conference registration closes June 13th.
These sessions have been organized by Eugénie Joltréau, Researcher at CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (Italy).
Both are presented under the framework of the CircEUlar project, which has received funding from the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101056810.
The Policy session will present results from the REBOUNDLESS project “Preventing Rebound Effects by Design”, funded by the EU Commission under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.
The second, Thematic, session will present results related to the CIRCOMOD project, which has received funding from the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101056868.
