In conjunction with the Science-Policy Business Forum and in advance of the third session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-3), the International Resource Panel (IRP) of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP or UN Environment) released a report titled, ‘Assessing Global Resource Use; A systems approach to resource efficiency and pollution reduct
Over two centuries of economic growth have put undeniable pressure on the ecological systems that underpin human well-being. While it is agreed that these pressures are increasing, views divide on how they may be alleviated. Some suggest technological advances will automatically keep us from transgressing key environmental thresholds; others that policy reform can reconcile economic and ecological goals; while a third school argues that only a fundamental shift in societal values can keep human demands within the Earth’s ecological limits.
This report provides an overview of resource use patterns in Asia and the Pacific, explains why sustainable resource use and resource efficiency will become an economic and social imperative for the region, and presents information on how to achieve resource efficiency and sustainable resource use through well-designed policies.
