GTF Berlin 29 - Sabine [EN]

What can the automotive industry do to promote a circular economy? your meaning.

I think you’re asking the wrong person here.

What do you think? What should they do?

Well, recycle as much as possible, take charge of scrap cars. I mean, we have the perverse situation, for example, that highly polluting cars are exported to countries with lower emission standards. I was in Cameroon, for example, a couple of years ago, and the number of cars that came from Germany that I saw driving around there, I mean, it was just incredible. We were basically creating the mobility of the future here, but exporting all our old polluting assets to somewhere else. This is not the way to go.

When you are sharing your car, do you have any concerns about privacy and personal data stored by car electronics, for example, GPS?

Perhaps wrongly, but I’m not so concerned about that. I’m more concerned about finding the dirt of other people in cars that I share.

Does recycling and reusing mean different things to you?

Well, recycling usually means breaking something down to the material components and, you know, working afresh with those with the with the components. Reusing is putting something that is already assembled, has different components to a new use, Modifying it slightly.

On a scale of 1 to 5, one means not at all concerned and five means extremely concerned. How concerned are you about issues of environmental waste and pollution?

Five.

Why.

The problem is clearly is clearly huge. And it’s the key problem that determines our future on this planet.

And what do you think? What should we do?

I keep working on all the solutions and be honest to ourselves about the solutions and that some of the solutions also tells living more modest but still fulfilled and plentiful lives, but being not so greedy in our use of natural resources.

What, if any, actions do you take in your life to promote sustainability?

Well, as I work for a climate NGO, so my whole professional life is geared to saving the planet, so to speak. And I try to be as honest to all the principles that I ask for in my professional life, in my in my private life.

The last question is how much responsibility does each individual have to make lifestyle and consumer choices that help protect the environment?

Clearly everybody has a responsibility as a consumer and as a citizen. But it is politics that has to solve the big problem and create the framework conditions for a different way of running our economies and living our living our lives. So it’s probably yeah, as citizens, we have to make our right choices when we vote and also get engaged in politics wherever we can.

Last question. Do you see the circular economy as a local or national or international issue?

It’s an issue for all, for all levels. Of course, we have very global supply chains these days. We can think of the circular economy at the local level, but ultimately we have to think about it globally.