-
As nations become wealthier, does this necessarily lead to a proportional increase in the weight of the materials they consume? Can economies successfully decouple materials use from economic growth? These pressing questions lie at the heart of national and international discussions about the transition to a more resource efficient, circular economy.
-
-
In the coming decades, growing populations with higher incomes will drive a strong increase in global demand for goods and services, and, as a result, for the material resources to support this growth. Although global population growth is projected to slow down, global population is projected to rise to more than 10 billion by 2060. Over the same period, living standards are gradually converging across economies. Thus, emerging and developing economies will grow faster than countries in the OECD region.
-
This chapter presents the main insights from the report and puts them into the wider policy context. The first section links the projections of the economic drivers to the projected growth in materials use between 2017 and 2060. The second section discusses the environmental consequences of these materials use projections and links them to the Sustainable Development Goals. The final section presents policy insights drawn from the analysis.
-
-
-