ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book highlights the potential of the circular economy (CE) to bring about more sustainable lifestyles and green industrial development in the Global South, while also making explicit that the CE is contested terrain with complex politics. It shows that some of the core arguments and issues of the politics of green transformations–multiple pathways, different narratives of transformations, institutional contexts and political alliances–also pertain to the circular economy. The book shows the many possible synergies between the circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals which can contribute to creating integrated strategies. It discusses how CE practices are being realised in varied domains, ranging from traditional agricultural practices of small-scale agriculture in India compared to industrial symbiosis in China’s industrial parks. The green transformations framework helps think through the roles and interests of the different actors.
