SG - Rethinking Economy for Circularity

Rethinking Economy for Circularity

In 2018, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality published her vision to make a transition to circular agriculture. However, this requires change beyond the farm level alone. Can circularity and economic growth go hand-in-hand? Do we need to rethink our economy to make it happen? How do we move towards a more circular society and economy? Tonight, expert in sustainable finance Prof. dr. Dirk Schoenmaker will share his perspective on an economy that works for both people and the planet, and discuss his insights on what is needed for a transformation towards a circular economy. Prof. dr. Hans van Meijl, Special Professor of ’Macroeconomic assessment of the circular and bioeconomy’ will act as a co-referent and respond to the lecture, followed by a discussion with the audience.

About Dirk Schoenmaker

Prof. dr. Dirk Schoenmaker is Professor of Banking and Finance at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam. His research and teaching focus on the areas of sustainable finance, central banking and financial stability, financial system architecture and European financial integration. Dirk Schoenmaker is also a non-Resident Fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel and a Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Research (CEPR). He is co-author of the textbooks 'Principles of Sustainable Finance' (Oxford University Press) and ‘Financial Markets and Institutions: A European perspective' (Cambridge University Press) and author of ‘Governance of International Banking: The Financial Trilemma’ (Oxford University Press).

About Hans van Meijl

Prof. dr. Hans van Meijl is chief economist at Wageningen Economic Research and Special Professor of ’Macroeconomic assessment of the circular and bioeconomy’ at Wageningen University (both Wageningen University & Research). He is involved in the water-climate-energy-food nexus, food security and biobased & circular economy themes. He has worked on the fields of bioeconomy, agricultural policy reforms (CAP reform), (indirect) land use change, biobased policies (RED), forestry (REDD), trade liberalisation (WTO, impact on developing countries), climate change (adaptation and mitigation policies) and technology at macro (international knowledge spill overs between countries, (productivity) impact of GMOs) and micro (innovation at farm level) level.

About lecture series Economic Perspectives for a Circular Food System

Attention for circular food systems is booming. Now that Dutch agriculture has to move towards circularity, it becomes clear that a lot of questions with regard to the business model for food producers, fair and true pricing along the chain, and the economic system in general, remain unanswered. For example, can farmers make a living from circular production? Are consumers and retailers willing to reward circularity? How do we organize responsibility in the food chain? Are there options to move beyond growth and GDP? In this series we will discuss these questions and explore the role of the economy in the transformation towards a circular food system.

This series is organized in collaboration with the Animal Production Systems group, Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy group, and Wageningen Economic Research. These five public events can be followed separately. They can also be followed as part of a new university course (capita selecta, 3 ECTS) which is organized in period 2, in the evening. More information on the course can be found here.

This programme has a hybrid set-up, which implies that a limited number of people can attend the lectures on campus while others will follow the lectures online. This set-up might be subject to change depending on COVID-19 developments.

If you wish to register for the complete course (capita selecta involving 6 sessions and assignments) or if you have questions about the course, please contact Evelien de Olde (evelien.deolde@wur.nl).

If you wish to attend one of the sessions without enrolling for the course, please register for this session by sending an e-mail to info.sg@wur.nl, with the title and date of the event in the subject line.

Please note that due to limited capacity, we might not be able to accommodate all registrations. The earlier you register, the more chance you have you can attend the event. For more information about registration and attendance, see here.