Speech on the environmental problem does not necessarily signal our demise it is our passport for the future
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One of the greatest challenges facing humanity today is to maintain the healthy
growth necessary to lift the world’s one billion people out of absolute poverty and
manage the natural resources required for the well-being of nine billion people
by 2050 – all while keeping environmental impacts within acceptable limits and
sustaining life’s natural support system.
The first Decoupling Report by UNEP's International Resource Panel (IRP), launched in
2011, sought to apply the concept of “decoupling” economic growth and human well-
being from negative environmental impacts and escalating resource use to address this
challenge.
Improving the rate of resource productivity (doing more with less) faster than the economic
growth rate is the notion behind decoupling, to the extent of actually using less resources.
That goal, however, demands an urgent rethink of the links between resource use and
economic prosperity, buttressed by a massive investment in technological, financial and
social innovation, to at least stabilise and ultimately reduce per capita consumption in
wealthy countries and help developing nations follow a more sustainable path.
The IRP’s new Decoupling 2 report demonstrates that the worldwide use of natural
resources has accelerated, causing severe environmental damage and depletion of natural
resources.
Annual material extraction grew by a factor of eight through the twentieth century. At
the same time, the use of resources, such as freshwater, land and soil has transgressed
sustainable levels.
This explosion in demand is set to accelerate as population growth and the increase in
incomes continue to rise. More than 3 billion people are expected to enjoy “middle class”
income levels in the next twenty years, compared to 1.8 billion today.
A global economy, based on the current consumption models, is not sustainable and
carries significant economic consequences. Price volatility and supply shocks of resources
have already been observed across a range of key materials and commodities. The volatility
of food prices, for example, increased to 22.4 per cent in 2000-2012 compared to 7.7 per
cent in the previous decade.
Placing the world’s environmental resources – such as water, biomass, fish stocks and
ecosystems – under too much stress can lead to sudden, non-linear collapse. Over-mining
has led to a decline in average ore grades for several key metals, such as copper, gold
and tin. As a result, three times as much resources and materials needs to be moved for
the same quantity of metal extraction as a century ago. Global markets cannot respond
adequately by simply raising the supply of resources to meet demand.
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