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Resource Efficiency: Potential and Economic Implications Resource Effciency: Potential and Economic Implications Summary for Policy-Makers Summary for Policy-Makers Acknowledgements Editor: Internatonal Resource Panel. Copyright © United Natons Environment Programme, 2016 This publicaton may be reproduced in whole or in part Lead authors: Paul Ekins and Nick Hughes. and in any form for educatonal or non-proft purposes ontriutn autors: Stefan Bringezu, without special permission from the copyright holder, Charles Arden Clarke, Marina Fischer-Kowalski, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. Thomas Graedel, Maarten Hajer, Seiji Hashimoto, Steve Hatield-Dodds, Petr Havlik, Edgar Hertwich, UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy of any John Ingram, Katja Kruit, Ben Milligan, Yuichi Moriguchi, publicaton that uses this publicaton as a source. No Nabil Nasr, David Newth, Michael Obersteiner, use of this publicaton may be made for resale or for Anu Ramaswami, Heinz Schandl, Sangwon Suh, any other commercial purpose whatsoever without Mark Swilling, Ester van der Voet, Brian Walsh, prior permission in writng from the United Natons Jim West and Henk Westhoek. Environment Programme. We are grateful for the valuable comments Disclaimer received by Hezri Adnan, Shardul Agrawala, The designatons employed and the presentaton Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, Chika Aoki-Suzuki, of the material in this publicaton do not imply the Peter Borkey, Werner Bosmans, Hans Bruyninckx, expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of Summary for Policy-Makers Summary for • Mariano Castro Sanchez Moreno, Minpeng Chen, the United Natons Environment Programme concerning Patrice Christmann, Jefrey Herrick, Tim Kasten, the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or Lea Kauppi, Pawel Kaźmierczyk, Vijay Kumar, of its authorites, or concerning delimitaton of its Yonglong Lyu, Anne Miehe, Jonathan Murphy, Kazunobu fronters or boundaries. Moreover, the views expressed Onogawa, Antonio M. A. Pedro, Tlou Ramaru, do not necessarily represent the decision or the stated Astrid Schomaker, Birgit Schwenk, Yoshinori Suga, policy of the United Natons Environment Programme, Ernst von Weizsaecker, Anders Wijkman and nor does citng of trade names or commercial processes Erinç Yeldan. consttute endorsement. Special thanks go to Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair of The full report should be referenced as follows: the Internatonal Resource Panel, and Ashok Khosla, EP Resource Efciency: Potental and former Co-Chair of the Internatonal Resource Panel, for Economic Implicatons A report of the Internatonal their contributons, dedicaton and commitment. Resource Panel. Ekins, P., Hughes, N., et al. The UNEP Secretariat team provided essental coordinaton and support, especially Shaoyi Li, Design/layout: UNEP DCPI Christna Bodouroglou, Vera Gunther and Printed by: UNESCO Abraham Pedroza. All photos ©: AFP Resource Efciency: Potental and Economic Implicatons and Economic Potental Efciency: Resource Summary for Policy-Makers Resource Effciency: Potential and Economic Implications Produced by the Internatonal Resource Panel. This document highlights key fndings from the report and should be read in conjuncton with the full report. The report can be downloaded from www.unep.org/resourcepanel. Additonal copies can be ordered via email: [email protected] Summary for Policy-Makers Preface ince its incepton in 2007, the It is exactly for these reasons that the G7 at Internatonal Resource Panel has their Summit in Germany in June 2015, as part been commited to providing of their increased commitment to improving independent, authoritatve and policy their eforts in resource efciency, asked the Srelevant scientfc assessments on the future Internatonal Resource Panel to produce a state, management and use of natural resources. report on the most promising potentals and With the publicaton of 15 assessment reports solutons for resource efciency for all countries and contnuous dialogues with policy-makers, - developed, newly industrialized and developing. industry leaders and civil society, the Panel has This rapid assessment report is the result stood out as a credible voice in the internatonal of a truly collectve efort by scientsts and community that underlines imperatves and experts of the Internatonal Resource Panel the urgency for the sustainable management who thoroughly reviewed the best science of natural resources and that artculates the available. The fndings of the report point out technological and economic potental of the importance of joining forces for actng now resource efciency and ways forward for the as well as the huge potental that resource Summary for Policy-Makers Summary for related public policies. efciency can have, if it is implemented carefully • and supported across diferent sectors and at Two historic events in 2015 fgure prominently multple levels. The pressing need to invest on resources issues: the 2030 Agenda on in resource efciency could actually lead to a Sustainable Development highlights that positve economic outcome. The report shows sustainable resource management is critcal how resource efciency can lead to higher to poverty eradicaton and to the sustainable economic growth and employment, if supported future we want; and the Paris Agreement by well-designed policies. on Climate Change confrms that decarbonisaton must go hand in hand The assessment demonstrates that because with decoupling economic growth from many areas of resource use are relatvely the escalatng use of natural resources and inefcient, the potental for resource efciency environmental degradaton as one of the key is tremendous. This is supported by the results components for achieving the transformaton of the modelling undertaken for this study, towards a beter tomorrow for current and which shows that resource efciency combined future generatons. with climate policy could at the same tme Resource Efciency: Potental and Economic Implicatons and Economic Potental Efciency: Resource Summary for Policy-Makers stabilise global resource use by 2050 and boost We are very grateful to Paul Ekins and incomes and economic growth. Nicholas Hughes for their tremendous efort in presentng a comprehensive Looking forward, the report demonstrates up-to-date perspectve for understanding the numerous examples from diferent countries potentals and economic implicatons around the world of increasing resource of resource efciency. Their remarkable work efciency in diferent sectors. It thereby puts gives us hope that with engaged actors, it the diferent challenges ahead into perspectve will be possible for us to improve wellbeing Implicatons and Economic Potental Efciency: Resource and illustrates how to learn from each other for everyone and protect the planet today and how to scale up what is working. and tomorrow. Co-Chairs, • Internatonal Resource Panel IRP Policy-Makers Summary for r ane Potonik r licia rcena Ljubljana, Republic Santago, of Slovenia Chile Summary for Policy-Makers Foreword ver the past decade, the cooperaton will make transformaton to a importance of resource efciency resource efcient future a reality. and sustainable management of natural resources has increased Such a transformaton presents all countries Oconsiderably, culminatng last year in the with not only a major challenge, but also historic adopton of the 17 Sustainable an historic opportunity to build dynamic, Development Goals and in the decision by the sustainable, innovatve and people-centred leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) natons to economies while preserving the natural promote ambitous actons to improve resource resource base and environment for future efciency as a core element of sustainable generatons. In short, the global improvement development. of resource efciency represents a major instrument to achieve the goals we have set in As part of that commitment, the G7 asked the 2030 Agenda. the Internatonal Resource Panel to prepare a synthesis report that highlights the potental Achieving this will only be possible with Summary for Policy-Makers Summary for and most promising solutons for resource focused politcal will, acton and determinaton • efciency. This rapid assessment report - at all levels, along with the acknowledgement Resource Efciency: Potental and Economic that there are diferences in resource Implicatons - provides an analysis of the status challenges determined by local contexts that and trends of resource efciency and presents make a ‘one size fts all’ soluton impossible. best-practces and possible solutons for developed countries, emerging economies and The examples in this report illustrate what developing countries. is working and why. The report shows that a landfll tax in the United Kingdom contributed While it is essental and signifcant for the G7 signifcantly to increased recycling rates, to champion resource-efciency, that alone reaching nearly 45 per cent for household will not be sufcient. Achieving an increase waste in 2014, up from 26 per cent for overall in resource efciency will require a concerted waste in 2012. It also shows that Japan’s ‘Top acton by all countries to change the way Runner’ scheme, which uses as a benchmark that resources are produced and consumed the highest performing energy-efcient across the economic and development appliances for setng the required average spectrum. Genuine and efectve internatonal standard in a future year, led to efciency Resource Efciency: Potental and Economic Implicatons and Economic Potental Efciency: Resource Summary for Policy-Makers improvements in diferent product groups
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