This article is part of The Climate Frontline, Apolitical's monthly climate newsletter. It was written by Oliver Matikainen, who’s a writer on Apolitical’s Government Climate Campus. Subscribe to the newsletter here.

Do you think global resource use has gone up or down in recent decades? Has it done so by a little or a lot? And will we use more or less resources in 2060 than we do now?

The recent Global Resources Outlook answers those questions. The report was published on March 1st by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Resource Panel (IRP).

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In this edition of the Climate Frontline, we’ll take a look at the report’s key findings and discuss how to pave the way for more sustainable resource use.

Key messages

If you think global resource use has increased significantly and is projected to continue doing so, you’re right.

The global economy consumed nearly the same amount of resources between 2018-2023 as it did in the entire 20th century.

That’s an extraordinary rate of resource use. And it’s a rate that’s accelerating. Global resource use is currently expected to increase by a further 60% by 2060, compared to 2022 levels.

The messages from this report could not be clearer: It is no longer whether a transformation towards global sustainable resource consumption and production is necessary, but how to urgently make it happen.

– Janez Potočnik and Izabella Teixeira, co-chairs, International Resource Panel

The report also tells us not everyone consumes the same amount of resources. High-income countries use 6 times more materials per capita than low-income countries. They’re also responsible for 10 times more climate impacts per capita.

Solving the supply-side

As Potočnik and Teixeira say, the challenge is clear. We need to transform our economies to use fewer resources — particularly in high-income countries.

One solution to this challenge is creating circular economies. In a circular economy, resources are continually reused rather than wasted. Cities, countries and regions across the world are already embracing the challenge of making their economies more circular.

The EU has a Circular Economy Action Plan, the G7 countries have created a Roadmap on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region founded a Circular Economy Coalition in 2021.

In 2016, Sweden introduced tax breaks on repairs to clothes, bicycles, fridges and washing machines to counter a wasteful consumer culture. In countries such as Germany, Denmark and Norway, Deposit Return Schemes reduce plastic waste by incentivising recycling. South Korea now recycles a whopping 95% of their food waste after introducing ‘pay-as-you-recycle’ machines.

As Carolina Pozo — former Secretary General of Planning and Open Government for the Municipality of Quito in Ecuador — explains, such examples illustrate that circular economy models can help build more sustainable cities from waste.

To be clear, we are not just talking about recycling here. We are talking about replacing the prevailing linear growth model with sustainable and circular models: systems that keep materials, once extracted, in use for as long as possible by rethinking how we design and deliver goods and services.

– Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP

However, despite a great increase in popularity, we’re still far from achieving fully circular economies. In fact, on some parameters, we’re moving in the wrong direction. According to the Circularity Gap Report, global circularity has declined by 21% since 2018 as consumption continues to accelerate.

Don’t forget demand

That’s why we can’t forget the demand-side of the equation. The Global Resources Outlook reminds us that supply-side measures must be complemented by demand-side measures. There are good reasons for that.

Research tells us that decoupling resource use from economic growth is like running down an escalator that accelerates in the opposite direction.

Running fast won’t get us down an escalator that goes up even faster. Similarly, improving efficiency won’t get us to sustainable resource use when demand is accelerating in a growing economy.

To get to sustainable levels of consumption, we need efficiency-oriented strategies (to run faster) and sufficiency-oriented strategies (to slow down the escalator.)

Yet, all the scenarios in the Global Resources Outlook assume continued economic growth — in other words, an accelerating escalator. That means that even in its most optimistic scenario, global resource use will still increase by about 20%.

This indicates that high-income countries in particular need to urgently explore complementary strategies. Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics offers a different take on the circle as a symbol.

The doughnut economics framework is based on two boundary-setting circles: one that sets a social foundation and one that marks the ecological ceiling. The space in between them is where societies can thrive.

Doughnut economics is just one way to connect discussions around supply and demand, efficiency and sufficiency and environmental impacts and well-being. Cities from Amsterdam to Mexico City are already applying this framework.

**The task is transforming **

As the International Resource Panel’s co-chairs say, the key question is no longer whether we need to transform our economies to produce and consume fewer resources. The question is how to make it happen.

“Addressing this reality, based on evolving concepts of a just transition,” they conclude, “is an essential part of any credible and justifiable way forward.”

Done reading? We'd love to hear your insights on sustainable resource use and the transition to circular economies. How do you think high-income countries can lead the way? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below ⬇️

(Image credit: Unsplash)