Evaluating impacts on resource efficiency

From Opasnet
Revision as of 10:55, 16 October 2009 by Juha Villman (talk | contribs) (corrections to category names)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search



Scope

Does the option promote greater resource efficiency?[1]

Description

Resources are the backbone of every economy. In using resources and transforming them, capital stocks are built up which add to the wealth of present and future generations. However, the dimensions of our current resource use are such that the chances of future generations - and the developing countries - to have access to their fair share of scarce resources are endangered. Moreover, the consequences of our resource use in terms of impacts on the environment may induce serious damages that go beyond the carrying capacity of the environment. These effects risk being aggravated once the developing world has taken up growth and resource use similar to the industrialised countries.

Resource efficiency or resource productivity can be defined as the efficiency with which we use energy and materials throughout the economy, i.e. the value added per unit of resource input. This means that resource productivity is defined analogously to labour productivity: the value added per unit of human resource. An example of resource productivity calculation on a national level is dividing the total economic activity of a country (expressed in GDP) by the total energy use (e.g. in toe) or total material-use (tons). The reverse of this quotient, i.e. energy use divided by economic activity, is also used and is called the energy intensity of the economy. If the energy (or material) intensity of the economy decreases, dematerialization is said to occur. The given definition of resource efficiency deals solely with the use to which resources are put. This implies that it does not consider the way resources are extracted or harvested (upstream of the economic activity) nor how they are disposed to air, water and soil (downstream of the economic activity). In order to fully understand the environmental implications of resource use, it is necessary to include both upstream and downstream activities (including the use of infrastructure, transport, dispersive losses, etc.).[1]

Result

Further information

EC related information:

Thematic strategy on the sustainable use of resources

Other information:

Indicators

The following Eurostat Sustainable Development Indicators (Climate change and energy, Global partnership) are relevant to address the key question:

There are no Eurostat Structural Indicators directly related to this key question.

Relevant data is also available in the OECD statistics database under the headings:

See also

IA Tools

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 JRC: IA TOOLS. Supporting inpact assessment in the European Commission.[1]

This text is for information only and is not designed to interpret or replace any reference documents. The text is partially adapted from:

Communication from the Commission to the Council and to The European Parliament: Towards a Thematic strategy on the sustainable use of natural resources