By 2050, humanity could devour an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year three times its current appetite unless the economic growth rate is decoupled from the rate of natural resource consumption. Developed countries citizens consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita (ranging up to 40 or more tons per person in some developed countries). By comparison, the average person in India today consumes four tons per year. With the growth of both population and prosperity, especially in developing countries, the prospect of much higher resource consumption levels is far beyond what is likely sustainable if realised at all given finite world resources, warns this report by UNEP's International Resource Panel. Already the world is running out of cheap and high quality sources of some essential materials such as oil, copper and gold, the supplies of which, in turn, require ever-rising volumes of fossil fuels and freshwater to produce. Improving the rate of resource productivity (doing more with less) faster than the economic growth rate is the notion behind decoupling, the panel says. That goal, however, demands an urgent rethink of the links between resource use and economic prosperity, buttressed by a massive investment in technological, financial and social innovation, to at least freeze per capita consumption in wealthy countries and help developing nations follow a more sustainable path.
Cents and Sustainability is a clear-sighted response to the 1987 call by Dr Gro Brundtland in Our Common Future to achieve a new era of economic growth that is 'forceful and at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable'. The Brundtland Report argued that not only was it achievable, but that it was an urgent imperative in order to achieve a transition to sustainable development while significantly reducing poverty and driving 'clean and green' investment. With some still arguing for significantly slowing economic growth in order to reduce pressures on the environment, this new book, Cents and Sustainability, shows that it is possible to reconcile the need for economic growth and environmental sustainability through a strategy to decouple economic growth from environmental pressures, combined with a renewed commitment to achieve significant environmental restoration and poverty reduction. Beginning with a brief overview of some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, the book then explains 'decoupling theory', overviews a number of factors that can undermine and even block efforts to decouple in both developed and developing countries, and then discusses a number of key considerations to assist the development of national 'decoupling strategies'. The book then focuses on presenting evidence to support greater action, not just on climate change, but also on decoupling economic growth from the loss of biodiversity and the deterioration of natural systems, freshwater extraction, waste production, and air pollution. In the lead up to the 2012 United Nations Earth Summit and beyond, Cents and Sustainability will be a crucial guide to inform and assist nations to develop strategies to significantly reduce environmental pressures, strengthen their economy, create jobs and reduce poverty. 'I commend the team from The Natural Edge Project and their partners for undertaking to develop a response to 'Our Common Future' to mark its 20th anniversary.' Dr Gro Brundtland. Sequel to The Natural Advantage of Nations Published with The Natural Edge Project
The problems related to the process of industrialisation such as biodiversity depletion, climate change and a worsening of health and living conditions, especially but not only in developing countries, intensify. Therefore, there is an increasing need to search for integrated solutions to make development more sustainable. The United Nations has acknowledged the problem and approved the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. On 1st January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda officially came into force. These goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals comprehensively addresses the SDGs in an integrated way. It encompasses 17 volumes, each one devoted to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume addresses SDG 12, namely "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns" and contains the description of a range of terms, which allows a better understanding and fosters knowledge. Concretely, the defined targets are: Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources Halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses Achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities Ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities Editorial Board Medani P. Bhandari, Luciana Londero Brandli, Morgane M. C. Fritz, Ulla A. Saari, Leonardo L. Sta Romana
This report explores technological possibilities and opportunities for developing and developed countries to accelerate decoupling and reap environmental and economic benefits of increased resource productivity. It examines policy options successful in helping different countries improve resource productivity in various sectors of their economy, avoiding negative impacts on the environment. It does not seem possible for a global economy based on the current unsustainable patterns of resource use to continue into the future. Economic consequences of these patterns are already apparent in increases in resource prices, increased price volatility and disruption of environmental systems. The environment impacts are also leading to potentially irreversible changes to the world's ecosystems, often with direct effects on people and the economy - for example: damage to health, water shortages, loss of fish stocks or increased storm damage. This report shows that much of the policy design 'know-how' needed to achieve decoupling is present in terms of legislation, incentive systems, and institutional reform. Many countries have tried these out with tangible results, encouraging others to study and where appropriate replicate and scale up such practices and successes
The relentless pursuit of economic growth is the defining characteristic of contemporary societies. Yet it benefits few and demands monstrous social and ecological sacrifice. Is there a viable alternative? How can we halt the endless quest to grow global production and consumption and instead secure socio-ecological conditions that support lives worth living for all? In this compelling book, leading experts Giorgos Kallis, Susan Paulson, Giacomo D’Alisa and Federico Demaria make the case for degrowth - living well with less, by living differently, prioritizing wellbeing, equity and sustainability. Drawing on emerging initiatives and enduring traditions around the world, they advance a radical degrowth vision and outline policies to shape work and care, income and investment that avoid exploitative and unsustainable practices. Degrowth, they argue, can be achieved through transformative strategies that allow societies to slow down by design, not disaster. Essential reading for all concerned citizens, policy-makers, and students, this book will be an important contribution to one of the thorniest and most pressing debates of our era.
This book offers a detailed presentation of the principles and practice of life cycle impact assessment. As a volume of the LCA compendium, the book is structured according to the LCIA framework developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)passing through the phases of definition or selection of impact categories, category indicators and characterisation models (Classification): calculation of category indicator results (Characterisation); calculating the magnitude of category indicator results relative to reference information (Normalisation); and converting indicator results of different impact categories by using numerical factors based on value-choices (Weighting). Chapter one offers a historical overview of the development of life cycle impact assessment and presents the boundary conditions and the general principles and constraints of characterisation modelling in LCA. The second chapter outlines the considerations underlying the selection of impact categories and the classification or assignment of inventory flows into these categories. Chapters three through thirteen exploreall the impact categories that are commonly included in LCIA, discussing the characteristics of each followed by a review of midpoint and endpoint characterisation methods, metrics, uncertainties and new developments, and a discussion of research needs. Chapter-length treatment is accorded to Climate Change; Stratospheric Ozone Depletion; Human Toxicity; Particulate Matter Formation; Photochemical Ozone Formation; Ecotoxicity; Acidification; Eutrophication; Land Use; Water Use; and Abiotic Resource Use. The final two chapters map out the optional LCIA steps of Normalisation and Weighting.
Harris and Roach present a compact and accessible presentation of the core environmental and resource topics and more, with analytical rigor as well as engaging examples and policy discussions. They take a broad approach to theoretical analysis, using both standard economic and ecological analyses, and developing these both from theoretical and practical points of view. It assumes a background in basic economics, but offers brief review sections on important micro and macroeconomic concepts, as well as appendices with more advanced and technical material. Extensive instructor and student support materials, including PowerPoint slides, data updates, and student exercises are provided.
Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development makes the case that greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable. Yet spurring growth without ensuring equity will thwart efforts to reduce poverty and improve access to health, education, and infrastructure services.
Despite enormous progress in the past decades towards improving human prosperity and well-being, this has come at the lasting cost of degradation of the natural environment and depletion of natural resources. Meeting the needs of a growing and increasingly affluent population, will require natural resource extraction to increase from 85 to 186 billion tons by 2050. This can cause irreversible environmental damage and endanger the capacity of Earth to continue to provide resources which are essential for human survival and development. Analysis in the report shows that policies and initiatives to improve resource efficiency and tackle climate change can reduce global resource extraction by up to 28 per cent while also boosting the value of world economic activity by 1 per cent in 2050, against the baseline. Such policy actions can also cut global greenhouse gas emissions by around 60 per cent in 2050 relative to 2015 levels. This report has been produced by the UNEP's International Resource Panel in response to a request by leaders of the G7 nations in the context of efforts to promote resource efficiency as a core element of sustainable development. The report conducts a rigorous survey to assess and articulate the prospects and solutions for resource efficiency. It considers how more efficient use of resources can contribute to economic growth, employment and development, at the same time as reducing the world's use of materials, energy, biomass and water, and the resulting environmental impacts. The report documents many examples of best practices for increasing the resource efficiency of different sectors from countries around the world. The challenge for policy-makers is to learn from and scale up these good practices, and to conceive and implement a set of transformative policies that will enable countries to reap the associated social, environmental and economic benefits.
