Assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production: priority products and materials by UNEP (2010)

Assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production: priority products and materials

Title

Assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production: priority products and materials

Author(s)

UNEP

Year

2010

Type

Journal Article

Source

UNEP

ISBN

978-92-807-3084-5

Abstract

he objectives of the UNEP International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management (Resource Panel) are to: • provide independent, coherent and authoritative scientific assessments of policy relevance on the sustainable use of natural resources and in particular their environmental impacts over the full life cycle; • contribute to a better understanding of how to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation. All economic activity occurs in the natural, physical world. It requires resources such as energy, materials and land. In addition, economic activity invariably generates material residuals, which enter the environment as waste or polluting emissions. The Earth, being a finite planet, has a limited capability to supply resources and to absorb pollution. A fundamental question the Resource Panel hence has to answer is how different economic activities influence the use of natural resources and the generation of pollution. This report answers this fundamental question in two main steps. First, as a preliminary step we need to review work that assesses the importance of observed pressures and impacts on the Earth’s Natural system (usually divided into ecological health, human health, and resources provision capability). Second, the report needs to investigate the causation of these pressures by different economic activities – which can be done via three main perspectives: 1. An industrial production perspective: Which production processes contribute most to pressures and impacts? This perspective is relevant for informing producers and sustainability policies focusing on production. 2. A final consumption perspective: Which products and consumption categories have the greatest impacts across their life cycle? This perspective is relevant for informing consumers and sustainability policies focusing on products and consumption. 3. A material use perspective: Which materials have the greatest impacts across their life cycle? This perspective is relevant for material choices and sustainability policies focusing on materials and resources. The assessment was based on a broad review and comparison of existing studies and literature analyzing impacts of production, consumption, or resource use of countries, country groups, or the world as a whole. For this report no primary research was done.

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Assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production: priority products and materials

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