Decoupling : natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth
01 May 2011-
TL;DR: The United Nations Environment Programme P.O. Box 30552 Nairobi, 00100 Kenya Tel: (254 20) 7621234 Fax: (256 20) 7623927 E-mail: uneppub@unep.org web: www.unep-eng.org www.uneppub.org as mentioned in this paper
Abstract: U n i t e d n a t i o n s e n v i r o n m e n t P r o g r a m m e United Nations Environment Programme P.O. Box 30552 Nairobi, 00100 Kenya Tel: (254 20) 7621234 Fax: (254 20) 7623927 E-mail: uneppub@unep.org web: www.unep.org www . unep . o r United Nations Environm nt Programme P.O. Box 30552 Nairobi, 00100 Kenya Tel: (254 20) 7621234 Fax: (254 20) 7623927 E-mail: uneppub@unep.org web: www.unep.org www . unep . o r g
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TL;DR: The most comprehensive and most highly resolved economic input–output framework of the world economy together with a detailed database of global material flows are used to calculate the full material requirements of all countries covering a period of two decades and demonstrate that countries’ use of nondomestic resources is about threefold larger than the physical quantity of traded goods.
Abstract: Metrics on resource productivity currently used by governments suggest that some developed countries have increased the use of natural resources at a slower rate than economic growth (relative decoupling) or have even managed to use fewer resources over time (absolute decoupling). Using the material footprint (MF), a consumption-based indicator of resource use, we find the contrary: Achievements in decoupling in advanced economies are smaller than reported or even nonexistent. We present a time series analysis of the MF of 186 countries and identify material flows associated with global production and consumption networks in unprecedented specificity. By calculating raw material equivalents of international trade, we demonstrate that countries’ use of nondomestic resources is, on average, about threefold larger than the physical quantity of traded goods. As wealth grows, countries tend to reduce their domestic portion of materials extraction through international trade, whereas the overall mass of material consumption generally increases. With every 10% increase in gross domestic product, the average national MF increases by 6%. Our findings call into question the sole use of current resource productivity indicators in policy making and suggest the necessity of an additional focus on consumption-based accounting for natural resource use.
1,182 citations
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TL;DR: It is found that although human population has grown fourfold and economic output 17-fold, global HANPP has only doubled, and this result calls for caution in refocusing the energy economy on land-based resources and for strategies that foster the continuation of increases in land-use efficiency without excessively increasing ecological costs of intensification.
Abstract: Global increases in population, consumption, and gross domestic product raise concerns about the sustainability of the current and future use of natural resources. The human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) provides a useful measure of human intervention into the biosphere. The productive capacity of land is appropriated by harvesting or burning biomass and by converting natural ecosystems to managed lands with lower productivity. This work analyzes trends in HANPP from 1910 to 2005 and finds that although human population has grown fourfold and economic output 17-fold, global HANPP has only doubled. Despite this increase in efficiency, HANPP has still risen from 6.9 Gt of carbon per y in 1910 to 14.8 GtC/y in 2005, i.e., from 13% to 25% of the net primary production of potential vegetation. Biomass harvested per capita and year has slightly declined despite growth in consumption because of a decline in reliance on bioenergy and higher conversion efficiencies of primary biomass to products. The rise in efficiency is overwhelmingly due to increased crop yields, albeit frequently associated with substantial ecological costs, such as fossil energy inputs, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss. If humans can maintain the past trend lines in efficiency gains, we estimate that HANPP might only grow to 27–29% by 2050, but providing large amounts of bioenergy could increase global HANPP to 44%. This result calls for caution in refocusing the energy economy on land-based resources and for strategies that foster the continuation of increases in land-use efficiency without excessively increasing ecological costs of intensification.
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References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the question of how technological transitions (TT) come about and identify particular patterns and mechanisms in transition processes, defined as major, long-term technological changes in the way societal functions are fulfilled.
5,020 citations
"Decoupling : natural resource use a..." refers background in this paper
...techniques, forming the set of practices, exhibiting dynamic stability carried out by social groups (Geels, 2002)....
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...niches are the starting points for change (Geels, 2002; Geels & Schot, 2007)....
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TL;DR: Global emissions growth since 2000 was driven by a cessation or reversal of earlier declining trends in the energy intensity of gross domestic product (GDP) and the carbon intensity of energy (emissions/energy), coupled with continuing increases in population and per-capita GDP.
Abstract: CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel burning and industrial processes have been accelerating at a global scale, with their growth rate increasing from 1.1% y(-1) for 1990-1999 to >3% y(-1) for 2000-2004. The emissions growth rate since 2000 was greater than for the most fossil-fuel intensive of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emissions scenarios developed in the late 1990s. Global emissions growth since 2000 was driven by a cessation or reversal of earlier declining trends in the energy intensity of gross domestic product (GDP) (energy/GDP) and the carbon intensity of energy (emissions/energy), coupled with continuing increases in population and per-capita GDP. Nearly constant or slightly increasing trends in the carbon intensity of energy have been recently observed in both developed and developing regions. No region is decarbonizing its energy supply. The growth rate in emissions is strongest in rapidly developing economies, particularly China. Together, the developing and least-developed economies (forming 80% of the world's population) accounted for 73% of global emissions growth in 2004 but only 41% of global emissions and only 23% of global cumulative emissions since the mid-18th century. The results have implications for global equity.
1,710 citations
TL;DR: A comprehensive assessment of global HANPP based on vegetation modeling, agricultural and forestry statistics, and geographical information systems data on land use, land cover, and soil degradation that localizes human impact on ecosystems suggests large-scale schemes to substitute biomass for fossil fuels should be viewed cautiously.
Abstract: Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP), the aggregate impact of land use on biomass available each year in ecosystems, is a prominent measure of the human domination of the biosphere. We present a comprehensive assessment of global HANPP based on vegetation modeling, agricultural and forestry statistics, and geographical information systems data on land use, land cover, and soil degradation that localizes human impact on ecosystems. We found an aggregate global HANPP value of 15.6 Pg C/yr or 23.8% of potential net primary productivity, of which 53% was contributed by harvest, 40% by land-use-induced productivity changes, and 7% by human-induced fires. This is a remarkable impact on the biosphere caused by just one species. We present maps quantifying human-induced changes in trophic energy flows in ecosystems that illustrate spatial patterns in the human domination of ecosystems, thus emphasizing land use as a pervasive factor of global importance. Land use transforms earth's terrestrial surface, resulting in changes in biogeochemical cycles and in the ability of ecosystems to deliver services critical to human well being. The results suggest that large-scale schemes to substitute biomass for fossil fuels should be viewed cautiously because massive additional pressures on ecosystems might result from increased biomass harvest.
1,277 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Graham and Marvin discuss the issues that shape urban form and city life more than infrastructure, which is the most important aspect of urban life. But they focus on infrastructure.
Abstract: Stephen Graham and Simon Marvin. London and New York: Routledge, 2001. ISBN 0-415-18964-0 (cloth); 0-415-18965-9 (paper). Few issues shape urban form and city life more than infrastructure, which u...
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TL;DR: The TGICA is a specialized body of the IPCC that distributes data and scenarios to support research and assessment across the three IPCC working groups.
Abstract: The TGICA is a specialized body of the IPCC that distributes data and scenarios to support research and assessment across the three IPCC working groups. The TGICA coordinates a Data Distribution Centre (DDC) which provides data sets, climate and related socio-economic/environmental scenarios, and other materials (e.g., technical guidelines on the use of scenarios). TGICA contributes to capacity building in the use of data and scenarios in developing and transition-economy regions and countries. TGICA has approximately 20 members drawn from the research community and is co-chaired by Richard Moss (US) and Jose Marengo (Brazil).
1,184 citations
"Decoupling : natural resource use a..." refers background in this paper
...vii NOx Mono-nitrogen oxides NO and NO2 NSSD National Strategy for Sustainable Development OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PTB Physical trade balance RNE German Council for Sustainable Development SEPA State Environmental Protection Administration (now the Ministry for Environmental Protection) SMC Sound Material Cycle Society SME Small to medium sized enterprise SO2 Sulfur dioxide SOIS Sustainability Oriented Innovation System SOx Sulfur oxides SRES Special Report on Emissions Scenarios TCE Ton of coal equivalent TPER Total Primary Energy Requirement TPES Total Primary Energy Supply UK-SDC United Kingdom's Sustainable Development Commission UN United Nations UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change US United States WTO World Trade Organization Yr Year Units g grams kg kilograms (103 grams) Mg megagrams (106 grams) Tg teragrams (109 grams) T ton (106 grams) Mt megaton (106 tons) Gt gigaton (109 tons) J joules W watts (J/s) GJ gigajoules (109 joules) MW megawatt (106 watts) m³ cubic meter (103 liters) Gm3 giga cubic meters (109 cubic meters) Decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth viii D ecoupling human well-being from resource consumption is at the heart of the International Resource Panel’s (IRP) mandate....
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...Such emissions are higher than the highest scenarios in the IPCC SRES (Nakicenovic and Swart, 2000), but since the IPCC scenarios have already been outpaced by developments since 2000 (Raupach et al....
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