The Circular Economy Mirage: A Lifecycle Systems Analysis of India’s Vehicle Scrappage Policy

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Offers a critical framework for analyzing circular economy policies beyond recycling metrics.

🏢実務担当者:Highlights risks of focusing solely on recycling without addressing durability and upstream emissions.

🏛政策担当者:Recommends incorporating durability criteria and lifecycle-based incentives into vehicle scrappage policies.

<title>Abstract</title> <p>India's Vehicle Scrappage Policy (Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernization Program) is a fundamental element of the circular economy transition in the transportation sector, emphasizing recycling, formalization, and emission reduction. Nonetheless, its systemic ramifications for resource efficiency are still little examined. This study rigorously assesses the strategy from a lifecycle systems viewpoint, transcending traditional measures of recycling efficiency and tailpipe emissions. The article employs a qualitative, doctrinal, and conceptual methodology to establish a five-dimensional analytical framework encompassing durability, material flow dynamics, embedded carbon, traceability, and incentive structures. The study uncovers a series of structural conflicts inherent in the policy design. Initially, age-dependent scrappage regulations and financial incentives compromise product durability, resulting in a durability shortfall. Secondly, enhanced recycling may paradoxically increase the need for raw materials, illustrating a waste-resource contradiction. The policy overlooks upstream emissions, leading to the displacement of embedded carbon from increased vehicle production. Fourth, inadequate traceability and the prevalence of informal dismantling sectors undermine assertions of circularity. Ultimately, incentive frameworks are oriented towards market expansion rather than resource protection. The study characterizes these dynamics as a "circular economy mirage," wherein formal recycling benefits conceal increasing material throughput and lifecycle emissions. It argues that recycling-focused policy frameworks are inadequate without concurrent efforts to reduce demand and manage lifecycles. The paper closes by recommending policy approaches focused on durability criteria, condition-based retirement, lifecycle-based incentives, and supply chain decarbonization. These findings enhance the broader discussion on circular economy policy in emerging economies by emphasizing the necessity for systematic, lifecycle-focused regulatory frameworks.</p>

• Research Square https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9361254/v1first seen 2026-05-16 04:22:31 · last seen 2026-05-29 04:22:14