International Resource Panel (IRP)

Provisioning systems of energy and mobility, food and built environment contributed 70% to total global climate change impacts, with shares of 29%, 23% and 17%, respectively in 2022. Land-related biodiversity loss, water stress and eutrophication are primarily related to food provisioning (between 55% and 75% of all impacts), followed by the built environment and energy for land-related biodiversity loss (including through wood use and related forestry activities). The built environment, as well as “water, sewage and health”, has seen a particularly large increase of a factor of 2.5 in climate impacts between 1995 and 2022, but also clothing and “other” services (often non-essential) have increased by more than 60% in this period. The increase of impacts from the built environment was mainly due to infrastructure build-up in Asia, and is likely to be followed in other developing regions in the future. Sustainable construction and urbanization strategies are therefore urgently needed to avoid a further massive increase in climate impacts. Read more about these strategies in the #GRO24 here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d

No change is without challenges. To deliver on decoupling, unsustainable patterns of resource use need to be reconfigured or replaced by sustainable modes of producing and consuming that respect the capacity of the planet, meet people’s needs and improve human dignity. Transitions are hugely complex and uncertain processes of change that can take decades to unfold. To achieve a successful transformation of our current unsustainable system, we must overcome different barriers and lock-ins ranging from economic to behavioural, institutional and vested power dynamics, as well as skills, information and knowledge constraints. Learn more about these obstacles and strategies proposed by #GRO24 here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d

Why is it important to report and analyse trends in material resource use? The #GRO24 provides 5 reasons: 1. Resource depletion 2. Environmental impacts 3. Economic growth 4. Social well-being 5. Decoupling Read more about them here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d

Pollution is one of the three critical issues that make up the triple planetary crisis. Every year, 400 million disability-adjusted life years are lost due to fine particulate matter (FPM) and air pollution. FPM causes by far the greatest health impacts across all types of environmental pollution.   According to the #GRO24: household mobility and heating demands are estimated to contribute more than 40% of the outdoor FPM health burdens, while the industrial activities supplying fossil energy, metal processing and non-metallic mineral processing are responsible for more than 30%.   Human health and climate change impacts from industrial airborne emission sources are largely caused by the use of fossil resources. This directly connects back to the question of resource use and the urgent need to decarbonize the energy system and material production to mitigate climate change and pollution-related health impacts. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d

On this International Youth Day with the theme "From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development”, it is vital to acknowledge that an environmentally sustainable economy with decent work and social justice is essential to the well-being of current and future generations of young people. We must recognize young people not only as the beneficiaries, but as key contributors who should be empowered to design their own future. According to UNESCO, we can put young people at the forefront of the digital revolution for sustainable development by leveraging digital tools, enhancing youth education, promoting entrepreneurship, facilitating community engagement, and supporting environmental conservation. Illustration by Freepik

Environmental impact footprints differ greatly between income country groups. Trade reenforces this inequality: High-income countries displace environmental impacts to all other income country groups, which means they import resources and materials that cause environmental impacts in the exporting regions. The #GRO24 shows that differences in impacts for food provisioning systems between high and low/middle-income countries is a multiplication factor of approximately 3 and 2, for climate change and land-related biodiversity impacts, respectively, while high-income regions cause more than 10 times more climate impacts to obtain provisioning systems of energy, mobility and built environment than low- and lower middle-income regions. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d

Growing and harvesting biomass continues to be the dominating driver of land-related biodiversity loss, global water stress, and freshwater biodiversity loss due to eutrophication. Relatively few industrial sectors – mainly food-related sectors (agriculture, retailers and food services), wood-related industries (forestry and construction) and increasingly biochemicals – are responsible for the major share of biodiversity loss. Biodiversity impacts mainly occur at the start of the value chain. Policies should focus on these intervention points in constructing a more circular and sustainable bioeconomy. Additionally, biomass cultivation, mineral and fossil resource extraction and processing for materials, fuels and food accounted for more than 55% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2022 and more than 60% if emissions from land-use change are included. The #GRO24 stresses the urgent need to direct climate mitigation effort towards agriculture, resource extraction and processing. This includes creating a circular economy to decrease the impacts of resources, whereby attention needs to be paid to sustainability and clean cycles. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d

Why does urbanization have important implications for material resource use? The proportion of the world population living in cities increased from 37% in 1970 to 56% in 2020. Urbanization is most advanced in North America and Europe, where around 80% of the population live in cities. Urbanization has increased rapidly in Africa and Asia. Many Asian countries experienced a massive infrastructure build-up and rapid urban growth. Africa had the largest annual urbanization growth rate of 1.4%, which led to an increase from an urban population of 22% in 1970 to 47% in 2020. This rapid growth dynamic has generated new challenges for resource use and environmental conservation, while opportunities for sustainable urbanism have remained mainly unexplored. Learn more in the #GRO24 here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d

Today is #EarthOvershootDay. Imagine, you receive your salary on the 1st of the month and by the 17th your bank account is empty. No way to finish the month except by getting in debt. Would that feel a sustainable way to live? Spoiler alert, It's not ! The European Union must play its part by designing and implementing #sufficiency, #resourceefficiency and #circulareconomy policies to reduce its environmental impacts, both domestically and abroad, within planetary boundaries while improving the well-being of its citizens. In case you're wondering, yes it is possible ! Check the International Resource Panel (IRP) Global Resource Outlook 2024 report. https://lnkd.in/e5xKij4z Inger Andersen Janez Potocnik Izabella Monica Teixeira (She/Her) #sustainability #climate #planetaryboudaries #resourceuse #environment https://lnkd.in/eMm5jkSu

How well do you know about “provisioning systems”? This concept groups together ecological, technological, institutional and social elements that interact to transform natural resources to satisfy human needs. The concept enables an integrated consideration of how material and political-economic dimensions interact to shape resource use to deliver social outcomes. Such a perspective opens up possibilities beyond sector-specific solutions that may have unintended consequences. It can point to much less resource-intensive ways of providing solutions, rather than relying on what initially looks like a sustainable solution. The #GRO24 focuses on four provisioning systems that are resource-intensive and central to human well-being: energy, food, built environment and mobility systems. Read more about them here: https://lnkd.in/dgCDvz2d