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Add to Preferred SourcesRapid growth in the extraction of materials is the chief culprit in climate change and biodiversity loss – a challenge that will only worsen unless the world urgently undertakes a systemic reform of resource use, according to a report released at the UN Environment Assembly.
Global Resources Outlook 2019, prepared by the International Resource Panel, examines the trends in natural resources and their corresponding consumption patterns since the 1970s to support policymakers in strategic decision-making and transitioning to a sustainable economy.
Over the past five decades, the population has doubled and the global domestic product has increased four times. The report finds that, in the same period, annual global extraction of materials grew from 27 billion tonnes to 92 billion tonnes (by 2017). This will double again by 2060 on current trends.
According to the report, “the extraction and processing of materials, fuels and food make up about half of total global greenhouse gas emissions and more than 90 percent of biodiversity loss and water stress”. By 2010, land-use changes had caused a loss of global species of approximately 11 percent.
“The Global Resources Outlook shows that we are ploughing through this planet’s finite resources as if there is no tomorrow, causing climate change and biodiversity loss along the way,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director of UN Environment. “Frankly, there will be no tomorrow for many people unless we stop.”
By using data from historical trends, the report projects into the year 2060. From 2015-2060, natural resource use is expected to grow by 110 percent, leading to a reduction of forests by over 10 percent and a reduction of other habitats like grasslands by around 20 percent. The implications for climate change are severe, as there would be an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of 43 percent.
If the recommended measures are implemented, it could accelerate economic growth, outweighing the up-front economic costs of shifting to economic models consistent with holding global warming to 1.5°C this century.
Original source: UN Environment
Published on 12 March 2019