Global environmental change, the depletion of natural resources, and unacceptable levels of pollution, among other anthropogenic impacts on the planet and its ecosystems, demand a radical shift in the way humankind develops. Global agreements like the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” or the “Paris Agreement on Climate Change” seek to promote sustainable development and its integration in policymaking. Against this backdrop, the Government of Japan in its Fifth Basic Environment Plan of 2018 proposed the concept of the Circulating and Ecological Sphere (CES) to guide sustainable transitions in light of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The CES provides a framework for a new paradigm in sustainable development bringing together existing approaches, namely, rural–urban linkages, ecosystem-based solutions, decarbonisation, and resource circulation. Still in an embryonic stage, some regional and local authorities in Japan have started to experiment with ways to apply this concept on the ground. Drawing on a systematic literature review on the different components covered by the CES, along with analysis of a case study in Suzu, Japan, this paper explores how this new concept can contribute to achieve a sustainable future.

全球环境变化，自然资源的枯竭以及令人无法接受的污染水平，以及对地球及其生态系统的其他人为影响，都要求人类发展方式发生根本性变化。《 2030年可持续发展议程》或《巴黎气候变化协定》等全球协议旨在促进可持续发展及其在决策中的融合。在此背景下，日本政府在其《 2018年第五个基本环境计划》中提出了循环生态圈（CES）的概念，以根据可持续发展目标（SDGs）指导可持续转型。CES为可持续发展的新范式提供了框架，将现有方法整合在一起，例如，城乡联系，基于生态系统的解决方案，脱碳，和资源流通。仍处于萌芽阶段，日本的一些地区和地方当局已开始尝试在地面上应用这一概念的方法。通过对CES涵盖的不同组成部分进行系统的文献综述以及对日本Suzu的案例研究的分析，本文探讨了这一新概念如何为实现可持续的未来做出贡献。