Sustainable resource use plays a key role to combat climate change, achieve the SDGs and enable the low-carbon transition.
Unsustainable production and consumption systems powered by relentless extraction of natural resources have been driving the inter-linked planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Today, resource extraction and processing are responsible for over 80% of biodiversity loss and water stress, and for 50% of carbon emissions globally. And global material resource use is expected to more than double from 2015 to 2050.
Through the shared vision and effective collaboration of all societal stakeholders, we can counteract these negative impacts and scale up solutions for an efficient and sustainable use of resources.
RESOURCE EXTRACTION
Reduce extraction and operate responsibly
Enabling the extractive sector to positively contribute to the SGDs while guaranteeing the supply of mineral resources necessary for the transition towards low-carbon economies.
RESOURCE CIRCULARITY
Enabling resources to fulfil their full potential
Supporting the design and diffusion of circular economy models able to reduce the resource intensity and waste of the global economy by keeping products and materials in use.
RESOURCE RECOVERY
Preventing value being labelled as waste
Ensuring that end-of-pipe solutions efficiently recover resources with high environmental and health standards, reducing the ever-growing need for virgin raw materials.
More efforts needed to foster the repair sector in Europe, new ETC/EEA study finds
World Resources Forum & University of South Australia co-host international webinar on sufficiency on December 2
