Today humanity uses, on average, the equivalent of 1.6 earths to
provide the resources we use and to absorb our waste. A pathway
to sustainable resource use is the circular economy. This concept
aims at optimising the value of the resources used and to minimise
the amount of resources used. The author addresses the question of
what kind of law we need to realize a circular economy. He argues
that many legal frameworks and rules on the national and the
European level will have to be reconsidered, amended and some
completely newly framed to foster a truly circular economy.

This is the inaugural lecture which Professor Chris Backes delivered
on 12 April 2017 on the occasion of accepting the Chair of
Environmental and Planning Law at Utrecht University School of
Law, Utrecht Centre forWater, Oceans and Sustainability Law.