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Meghan O’Brien; Dietmar Wechsler; Stefan Bringezu; Rüdiger Schaldach. Toward a systemic monitoring of the European bioeconomy: Gaps, needs and the integration of sustainability indicators and targets for global land use. Land Use Policy 2017, 66, 162 -171.
AMA StyleMeghan O’Brien, Dietmar Wechsler, Stefan Bringezu, Rüdiger Schaldach. Toward a systemic monitoring of the European bioeconomy: Gaps, needs and the integration of sustainability indicators and targets for global land use. Land Use Policy. 2017; 66 ():162-171.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMeghan O’Brien; Dietmar Wechsler; Stefan Bringezu; Rüdiger Schaldach. 2017. "Toward a systemic monitoring of the European bioeconomy: Gaps, needs and the integration of sustainability indicators and targets for global land use." Land Use Policy 66, no. : 162-171.
Biodiversity loss is widely recognized as a serious global environmental change process. While large-scale metal mining activities do not belong to the top drivers of such change, these operations exert or may intensify pressures on biodiversity by adversely changing habitats, directly and indirectly, at local and regional scales. So far, analyses of global spatial dynamics of mining and its burden on biodiversity focused on the overlap between mines and protected areas or areas of high value for conservation. However, it is less clear how operating metal mines are globally exerting pressure on zones of different biodiversity richness; a similar gap exists for unmined but known mineral deposits. By using vascular plants’ diversity as a proxy to quantify overall biodiversity, this study provides a first examination of the global spatial distribution of mines and deposits for five key metals across different biodiversity zones. The results indicate that mines and deposits are not randomly distributed, but concentrated within intermediate and high diversity zones, especially bauxite and silver. In contrast, iron, gold, and copper mines and deposits are closer to a more proportional distribution while showing a high concentration in the intermediate biodiversity zone. Considering the five metals together, 63% and 61% of available mines and deposits, respectively, are located in intermediate diversity zones, comprising 52% of the global land terrestrial surface. 23% of mines and 20% of ore deposits are located in areas of high plant diversity, covering 17% of the land. 13% of mines and 19% of deposits are in areas of low plant diversity, comprising 31% of the land surface. Thus, there seems to be potential for opening new mines in areas of low biodiversity in the future.
Diego I. Murguía; Stefan Bringezu; Rüdiger Schaldach. Global direct pressures on biodiversity by large-scale metal mining: Spatial distribution and implications for conservation. Journal of Environmental Management 2016, 180, 409 -420.
AMA StyleDiego I. Murguía, Stefan Bringezu, Rüdiger Schaldach. Global direct pressures on biodiversity by large-scale metal mining: Spatial distribution and implications for conservation. Journal of Environmental Management. 2016; 180 ():409-420.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDiego I. Murguía; Stefan Bringezu; Rüdiger Schaldach. 2016. "Global direct pressures on biodiversity by large-scale metal mining: Spatial distribution and implications for conservation." Journal of Environmental Management 180, no. : 409-420.
In the future, the capacities of renewable SNG (synthetic natural gas) will expand significantly. Pilot plants are underway to use surplus renewable power, mainly from wind, for electrolysis and the production of hydrogen, which is methanated and fed into the existing gas pipeline grid. Pilot projects aim at the energetic use of SNG for households and transport in particular for gas fueled cars. Another option could be the use of SNG as feedstock in chemical industry. The early stage of development raises the question of whether SNG should be better used for mobility or the production of chemicals. This study compares the global warming potential (GWP) of the production of fossil natural gas (NG) and carbon-dioxide (CO2)-based SNG and its use for car transport versus chemical use in the form of synthesis gas. Since the potential of wind energy for SNG production is mainly located in northern Germany, the consequences by a growing distance between production in the North and transport to the South of Germany are also examined. The results indicate that CO2-based SNG produced with wind power would lead to lower GWP when substituting NG for both uses in either transport or chemical production. Differences of the savings potential occur in short-distance pipeline transport. The critical factor is the energy required for compression along the process chain.
Wieland Hoppe; Stefan Bringezu; Nils Thonemann. Comparison of global warming potential between conventionally produced and CO2-based natural gas used in transport versus chemical production. Journal of Cleaner Production 2016, 121, 231 -237.
AMA StyleWieland Hoppe, Stefan Bringezu, Nils Thonemann. Comparison of global warming potential between conventionally produced and CO2-based natural gas used in transport versus chemical production. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2016; 121 ():231-237.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWieland Hoppe; Stefan Bringezu; Nils Thonemann. 2016. "Comparison of global warming potential between conventionally produced and CO2-based natural gas used in transport versus chemical production." Journal of Cleaner Production 121, no. : 231-237.
The amount of land directly disturbed by mining is a key generic environmental pressure indicator. A novel method based on the measurement of the cumulative net area disturbances using Landsat satellite images and its correlation with the cumulative ore production at the mine site was applied. Weighted disturbance rates (WDRs) were calculated indicating the annual quantity of hectares newly disturbed per million metric tons of ore extracted. Results show that open pit (OP) have a smaller average WDR (5.05 ha/Mt) than underground (UG) mines (11.85 ha/Mt). This is explained by the relation between the annual amounts of new net area disturbed and of ore extracted which is larger for UG than for OP mines due to the annual extraction volume (lower for UG). Overall findings demonstrate that bauxite mining has the highest WDR (7.98 ha/Mt), followed by gold (6.70 ha/Mt), silver (5.53 ha/Mt), copper (4.5 ha/Mt) and iron (4.25 ha/Mt).
Diego I. Murguía; Stefan Bringezu. Measuring the specific land requirements of large-scale metal mines for iron, bauxite, copper, gold and silver. Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 2016, 10, 264 .
AMA StyleDiego I. Murguía, Stefan Bringezu. Measuring the specific land requirements of large-scale metal mines for iron, bauxite, copper, gold and silver. Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal. 2016; 10 (2/3):264.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDiego I. Murguía; Stefan Bringezu. 2016. "Measuring the specific land requirements of large-scale metal mines for iron, bauxite, copper, gold and silver." Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 10, no. 2/3: 264.
The amount of land directly disturbed by mining is a key generic environmental pressure indicator. A novel method based on the measurement of the cumulative net area disturbances using Landsat satellite images and its correlation with the cumulative ore production at the mine site was applied. Weighted disturbance rates (WDRs) were calculated indicating the annual quantity of hectares newly disturbed per million metric tons of ore extracted. Results show that open pit (OP) have a smaller average WDR (5.05 ha/Mt) than underground (UG) mines (11.85 ha/Mt). This is explained by the relation between the annual amounts of new net area disturbed and of ore extracted which is larger for UG than for OP mines due to the annual extraction volume (lower for UG). Overall findings demonstrate that bauxite mining has the highest WDR (7.98 ha/Mt), followed by gold (6.70 ha/Mt), silver (5.53 ha/Mt), copper (4.5 ha/Mt) and iron (4.25 ha/Mt).
Diego I. Murguía; Stefan Bringezu. Measuring the specific land requirements of large-scale metal mines for iron, bauxite, copper, gold and silver. Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 2016, 10, 264 .
AMA StyleDiego I. Murguía, Stefan Bringezu. Measuring the specific land requirements of large-scale metal mines for iron, bauxite, copper, gold and silver. Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal. 2016; 10 (2/3):264.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDiego I. Murguía; Stefan Bringezu. 2016. "Measuring the specific land requirements of large-scale metal mines for iron, bauxite, copper, gold and silver." Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 10, no. 2/3: 264.
Stefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Meghan O’Brien; Guy Robinson; Doris A. Carson. Measuring and managing the global agricultural footprint of countries’ consumption. Handbook on the Globalisation of Agriculture 2015, 106 -124.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu, Helmut Schütz, Meghan O’Brien, Guy Robinson, Doris A. Carson. Measuring and managing the global agricultural footprint of countries’ consumption. Handbook on the Globalisation of Agriculture. 2015; ():106-124.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Meghan O’Brien; Guy Robinson; Doris A. Carson. 2015. "Measuring and managing the global agricultural footprint of countries’ consumption." Handbook on the Globalisation of Agriculture , no. : 106-124.
Peter Bartelmus; Stephan Moll; Stefan Bringezu; Sebastian Nowark; Raimund Bleischwitz; Peter Hennicke. Translating sustainable development into practice: a 'patchwork' of some new concepts and an introduction to material flows analysis. Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business 2013, 1 .
AMA StylePeter Bartelmus, Stephan Moll, Stefan Bringezu, Sebastian Nowark, Raimund Bleischwitz, Peter Hennicke. Translating sustainable development into practice: a 'patchwork' of some new concepts and an introduction to material flows analysis. Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business. 2013; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StylePeter Bartelmus; Stephan Moll; Stefan Bringezu; Sebastian Nowark; Raimund Bleischwitz; Peter Hennicke. 2013. "Translating sustainable development into practice: a 'patchwork' of some new concepts and an introduction to material flows analysis." Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business , no. : 1.
Raimund Bleischwitz; Stephan Moll; Stefan Bringezu; Dirk Assmann; Manfred Fischedick; Stefan Thomas; Holger Wallbaum; Rainer Lucas. Emerging regulatory policies for eco-efficiency. Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business 2013, 1 .
AMA StyleRaimund Bleischwitz, Stephan Moll, Stefan Bringezu, Dirk Assmann, Manfred Fischedick, Stefan Thomas, Holger Wallbaum, Rainer Lucas. Emerging regulatory policies for eco-efficiency. Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business. 2013; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaimund Bleischwitz; Stephan Moll; Stefan Bringezu; Dirk Assmann; Manfred Fischedick; Stefan Thomas; Holger Wallbaum; Rainer Lucas. 2013. "Emerging regulatory policies for eco-efficiency." Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business , no. : 1.
Stephan Moll; Stefan Bringezu; Dirk Assmann; Thomas Hanke; Holger Wallbaum; Raimund Bleischwitz; Peter Hennicke. Bridging the data gap. Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business 2013, 1 .
AMA StyleStephan Moll, Stefan Bringezu, Dirk Assmann, Thomas Hanke, Holger Wallbaum, Raimund Bleischwitz, Peter Hennicke. Bridging the data gap. Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business. 2013; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStephan Moll; Stefan Bringezu; Dirk Assmann; Thomas Hanke; Holger Wallbaum; Raimund Bleischwitz; Peter Hennicke. 2013. "Bridging the data gap." Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business , no. : 1.
Global warming, the overall extraction of minerals and the expansion of cultivated land for biomass harvest are growing globally. These “Big Three” represent key environmental pressures which may lead to a continuous degradation of the living environment, if not controlled at levels with acceptable low risk. The situation is complex, because countries and regions consume products which require resources such as minerals and land in various parts of the world. Nevertheless, it is possible to measure the global resource use which is associated with the domestic consumption. In order to inform policies at the national and supranational level whether it may be necessary to adjust the incentive framework for industry and households, reference data are needed to compare the status quo of their countries with what may be deemed acceptable at a global level. This chapter outlines a rationale for the derivation of possible long-term targets for total material consumption of abiotic materials (TMCabiot) and global land use for crops (GLUcropland). The indicated targets are expressed in tentative per capita values which may serve as a first orientation and basis for further debate and research.
Stefan Bringezu. Targets for Global Resource Consumption. Corporate Sustainability in International Comparison 2013, 41 -64.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu. Targets for Global Resource Consumption. Corporate Sustainability in International Comparison. 2013; ():41-64.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu. 2013. "Targets for Global Resource Consumption." Corporate Sustainability in International Comparison , no. : 41-64.
This article presents the accounts of China’s Total Material Requirement (TMR) during 1995–2008, which were compiled under the guidelines of Eurostat (2009) and with the Hidden Flow (HF) coefficients developed by the Wuppertal Institute. Subsequently, comparisons with previous studies are conducted. Using decomposition, we finally examine the influential factors that have changed the TMR of China. The main findings are the following: (1) During 1995–2008 China’s TMR increased from 32.7 Gt to 57.0 Gt. Domestic extraction dominated China’s TMR, but a continuous decrease of its shares can be observed. In terms of material types, excavation constituted the biggest component of China’s TMR, and a shift from biomass to metallic minerals is apparent; (2) Compared with two previous studies on China’s TMR, the amounts of TMR in this study are similar to the others, whereas the amounts of the used part of TMR (Direct Material Input, DMI) are quite different as a result of following different guidelines; (3) Compared with developed countries, China’s TMR per capita was much lower, but a continuous increase of this indicator can be observed; (4) Factors of Affluence (A) and Material Intensity (T), respectively, contributed the most to the increase and decrease of TMR, but the overall decrease effect is limited.
Heming Wang; Qiang Yue; Zhongwu Lu; Helmut Schuetz; Stefan Bringezu. Total Material Requirement of Growing China: 1995–2008. Resources 2013, 2, 270 -285.
AMA StyleHeming Wang, Qiang Yue, Zhongwu Lu, Helmut Schuetz, Stefan Bringezu. Total Material Requirement of Growing China: 1995–2008. Resources. 2013; 2 (3):270-285.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHeming Wang; Qiang Yue; Zhongwu Lu; Helmut Schuetz; Stefan Bringezu. 2013. "Total Material Requirement of Growing China: 1995–2008." Resources 2, no. 3: 270-285.
This chapter will provide an overview and international comparison of global material resource and land use of the European Union. The current level and composition of total material consumption of industrial economies can hardly serve as a model for worldwide adoption, as this would lead to an increase of global resource extraction by a factor of 2 to 5. Nevertheless, the good news is that a decoupling of economic growth and material and resource use is already under way. There is, however, no reason to expect an automatic absolute decline of resource consumption. On the contrary, stabilisation at a high level seems probable and the rapid increase of resource requirements in countries such as China indicates the need for enhanced decoupling. Our analysis reveals that resource requirements of industrial regions such as the EU are being increasingly supplied from other regions, and in particular from developing countries which have to carry a growing burden of resource extraction and refining. We will have a closer look at the case study of the platinum group of metals (PGM). The ‘green polluter’ provides an excellent example of how environmental policy and technology can contribute to problem shifting; and of how future technological development, such as the widespread introduction of fuel cells, will be faced with severe scarcity problems, should the efficiency of material use not be drastically increased. The case of biofuels then shows that these may turn out to be risky renewables. The growing demand for non-food biomass will lead to global expansion of cropland at the expense of natural ecosystems, with impacts on biodiversity and higher risk of climate change. Again, alternative and more efficient use of biomass and mineral resources may lead the way towards more sustainable resource use. Building the bridge to economic actors we analyse and compare ndustries and product groups. Only a few are associated with the major share of the economy's resource requirements as well as with environmental pressures such as global warming. These sectors also perform below average with regard to socioeconomic indicators such as employment. Our results show that dematerialisation in terms of resource productivity gains could contribute to resource as well as climate protection while improving socioeconomic development.
Stefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Mathieu Saurat; Stephan Moll; José Acosta-Fernández; Sören Steger. Europe's resource use: Basic trends, global and sectoral patterns and environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies 2013, 52 -154.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu, Helmut Schütz, Mathieu Saurat, Stephan Moll, José Acosta-Fernández, Sören Steger. Europe's resource use: Basic trends, global and sectoral patterns and environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies. 2013; ():52-154.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Mathieu Saurat; Stephan Moll; José Acosta-Fernández; Sören Steger. 2013. "Europe's resource use: Basic trends, global and sectoral patterns and environmental and socioeconomic impacts." Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies , no. : 52-154.
In this chapter we will widen the perspective to include the socio-industrial metabolism and the global resource base of countries and regions such as Europe. We will provide an overview of the methods used to quantify and assess human-induced material flows, from the product level to the whole economy, considering substance and bulk-material flows. Economy-wide indicators provide information on the structure of the metabolism and allow the measurement of domestic and foreign resource use, resource productivity and physical growth. To address the environmental impacts of resource use, two types of environmental pressure indicator are described, which complement each other. Global land-use accounting is presented as an instrument to measure another basic dimension of resource use and to detect further possible shifts of environmental burden across regions. Last but not least, a dynamic, multi-level framework of analysis is outlined, which builds the bridge to the driving forces of resource use and the relevant actors, and assists the societal learning process towards a more sustainable use of resources.
Stefan Bringezu; Isabel van de Sand; Helmut Schütz; Raimund Bleischwitz; Stephan Moll. Analysing global resource use of national and regional economies across various levels. Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies 2013, 10 -51.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu, Isabel van de Sand, Helmut Schütz, Raimund Bleischwitz, Stephan Moll. Analysing global resource use of national and regional economies across various levels. Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies. 2013; ():10-51.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu; Isabel van de Sand; Helmut Schütz; Raimund Bleischwitz; Stephan Moll. 2013. "Analysing global resource use of national and regional economies across various levels." Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies , no. : 10-51.
This chapter intends to outline the emerging field of resource policy. A strategic approach is described considering the role of competitiveness and innovation, the influence of barriers and incentives, and the scale and scope of system innovations. Essential elements for resource policies are improved information and dissemination and the creation of lead markets. A sectoral approach is deemed necessary to promote a more efficient and sustainable use of resources in key industries. Adjusting the framework conditions for industry and households might be a prerequisite for making change happen. To proceed at the international level, a strategic partnership between the EU, Japan and the USA is suggested, and elements of a global governance system of sustainable resource management are described.
Raimund Bleischwitz; Bettina Bahn-Walkowiak; Stefan Bringezu; Rainer Lucas; Sören Steger; Henning Wilts; Mathias Onischka; Oliver Röder. Outline of a resource policy and its economic dimension. Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies 2013, 216 -296.
AMA StyleRaimund Bleischwitz, Bettina Bahn-Walkowiak, Stefan Bringezu, Rainer Lucas, Sören Steger, Henning Wilts, Mathias Onischka, Oliver Röder. Outline of a resource policy and its economic dimension. Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies. 2013; ():216-296.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaimund Bleischwitz; Bettina Bahn-Walkowiak; Stefan Bringezu; Rainer Lucas; Sören Steger; Henning Wilts; Mathias Onischka; Oliver Röder. 2013. "Outline of a resource policy and its economic dimension." Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies , no. : 216-296.
Material flows induced by national economies can be regarded as indirect pressure indicators for environmental degradation. Economy-wide material flow analysis and indicators have been designed to monitor material and energy flows at the macroeconomic level and to provide indicators, which could contribute to management of resource use and output emission flows from both economic, environmental and broader sustainability points of view. These indicators can serve various purposes including monitoring the material basis of national economies and related environmental pressures, assessment of the material and resource productivity and monitoring the implications of trade and globalisation. The main part of this paper compares the material and resource use of the Czech Republic, Germany and the EU-15 by means of DMI and TMR indicators over the period of 1991–2004 (1991–2000 for EU-15). At the aggregate level both indicators in all three economies do not show any clear decreasing or increasing trends over the period considered. This means that environmental pressure related to use of materials for production and consumption purposes remains rather stable. All the economies however, recorded an increase in the efficiency of transforming the material/resource inputs into economic output. The analysis further revealed that most of the dynamics of DMI and TMR in the Czech Republic tended towards a higher similarity with Germany and the EU-15. In the future, further decreases in DMI as well as in TMR of fossils fuels might be expected in the Czech Republic, which could be counteracted by increase in DMI and TMR of metal ores/metal resources and non-metallic minerals/non-metallic resources. The future development of total DMI, TMR and material/resource intensity in both the Czech Republic and Germany will depend on further shifts to less material intensive industries and services and on increasing material efficiency in production and consumption of particular products. This is not only a technological, but also a social challenge, as there are barriers in current mode of governance and in shaping of current economic and social systems to do so.
Jan Kovanda; Isabel van de Sand; Helmut Schütz; Stefan Bringezu. Economy-wide material flow indicators: Overall framework, purposes and uses and comparison of material use and resource intensity of the Czech Republic, Germany and the EU-15. Ecological Indicators 2012, 17, 88 -98.
AMA StyleJan Kovanda, Isabel van de Sand, Helmut Schütz, Stefan Bringezu. Economy-wide material flow indicators: Overall framework, purposes and uses and comparison of material use and resource intensity of the Czech Republic, Germany and the EU-15. Ecological Indicators. 2012; 17 ():88-98.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJan Kovanda; Isabel van de Sand; Helmut Schütz; Stefan Bringezu. 2012. "Economy-wide material flow indicators: Overall framework, purposes and uses and comparison of material use and resource intensity of the Czech Republic, Germany and the EU-15." Ecological Indicators 17, no. : 88-98.
Consumption of natural resources should not exceed sustainable levels. The increasing use of biofuels and to some extent biomaterials, on top of rising food and feed demands, is causing countries to use a growing amount of global land, which may lead to land use conflicts and the expansion of cropland and intensive cultivation at the expense of natural ecosystems. Selective product certification cannot control the land use change triggered by growing overall biomass consumption. We propose a comprehensive approach to account for the global land use of countries for their domestic consumption, and assess this level with regard to globally acceptable levels of resource use, based on the concept of safe operating space. It is shown that the European Union currently uses one-third more cropland than globally available on a per capita basis and that with constant consumption levels it would exceed its fair share of acceptable resource use in 2030. As the use of global forests to meet renewable energy targets is becoming a concern, an approach to account for sustainable levels of timber flows is also proposed, based on the use of net annual increment, exemplified with preliminary data for Switzerland. Altogether, our approach would integrate the concept of sustainable consumption into national resource management plans; offering a conceptual basis and concrete reference values for informed policy making and urging countries to monitor and adjust their levels of resource consumption in a comprehensive way, respectful of the limits of sustainable supply.
Stefan Bringezu; Meghan O’Brien; Helmut Schütz. Beyond biofuels: Assessing global land use for domestic consumption of biomass: A conceptual and empirical contribution to sustainable management of global resources. Land Use Policy 2012, 29, 224 -232.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu, Meghan O’Brien, Helmut Schütz. Beyond biofuels: Assessing global land use for domestic consumption of biomass: A conceptual and empirical contribution to sustainable management of global resources. Land Use Policy. 2012; 29 (1):224-232.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu; Meghan O’Brien; Helmut Schütz. 2012. "Beyond biofuels: Assessing global land use for domestic consumption of biomass: A conceptual and empirical contribution to sustainable management of global resources." Land Use Policy 29, no. 1: 224-232.
Stefan Bringezu; H. Schütz. Auswirkungen eines verstärkten Anbaus nachwachsender Rohstoffe im globalen Maßstab. TATuP - Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis 2008, 17, 12 -23.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu, H. Schütz. Auswirkungen eines verstärkten Anbaus nachwachsender Rohstoffe im globalen Maßstab. TATuP - Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis. 2008; 17 (2):12-23.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu; H. Schütz. 2008. "Auswirkungen eines verstärkten Anbaus nachwachsender Rohstoffe im globalen Maßstab." TATuP - Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis 17, no. 2: 12-23.
Resource flows constitute the materials basis of the economy. At the same time, they carry and induce an environmental burden associated with resource extraction and the subsequent material flows and stocks, which finally end up as waste and emissions. A reduction of this material throughput and the related impacts would require a reduction of resource inputs. And breaking the link between resource consumption and economic growth would require an increase in resource productivity. Material flow analysis (MFA) can be used to quantify resource flows and indicate resource productivity. In this article, we study the available empirical evidence on the actual (de-)linkage of material resource use and economic growth. We compare resource use with respect to total material requirement (TMR) and direct material input (DMI) for 11 and 26 countries, respectively, and the European Union (EU-15). The dynamics of TMR, as well as of the main components are analysed in relation to economic growth in order to show whether there is a decoupling (relative or absolute) from GDP and a change of the metabolic structure in the course of economic development. DMI/cap so far only decoupled from GDP/cap in relative terms; that is, in most countries, it reached a rather constant level but—with the exception of Czech Republic—showed no absolute decline yet. TMR/cap was reduced in two high-income countries and one low-income country due to political influence. Changes in TMR were more influenced by hidden flows (HF) than by DMI. We analyse the dynamics of the structure and composition of TMR in the course of economic development. In general, the economic development of industrial countries was accompanied by a shift from domestic to foreign resource extraction. Different relations can be discovered for the share of biomass, fossil fuel resources, construction resources and metals and industrial minerals.
Stefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Sören Steger; Jan Baudisch. International comparison of resource use and its relation to economic growth: The development of total material requirement, direct material inputs and hidden flows and the structure of TMR. Ecological Economics 2004, 51, 97 -124.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu, Helmut Schütz, Sören Steger, Jan Baudisch. International comparison of resource use and its relation to economic growth: The development of total material requirement, direct material inputs and hidden flows and the structure of TMR. Ecological Economics. 2004; 51 (1-2):97-124.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Sören Steger; Jan Baudisch. 2004. "International comparison of resource use and its relation to economic growth: The development of total material requirement, direct material inputs and hidden flows and the structure of TMR." Ecological Economics 51, no. 1-2: 97-124.
Economy‐wide material flow analysis (MFA) and derived indicators have been developed to monitor and assess the metabolic performance of economies, that is, with respect to the internal economic flows and the exchange of materials with the environment and with other economies. Indicators such as direct material input (DMI) and direct material consumption (DMC) measure material use related to either production or consumption. Domestic hidden flows (HF) account for unused domestic extraction, and foreign HF represent the upstream primary resource requirements of the imports. DMI and domestic and foreign HF account for the total material requirement (TMR) of an economy. Subtracting the exports and their HF provides the total material consumption (TMC). DMI and TMR are used to measure the (de‐) coupling of resource use and economic growth, providing the basis for resource efficiency indicators. Accounting for TMR allows detection of shifts from domestic to foreign resource requirements. Net addition to stock (NAS) measures the physical growth of an economy. It indicates the distance from flow equilibrium of inputs and outputs that may be regarded as a necessary condition of a sustainable mature metabolism. We discuss the extent to which MFA‐based indicators can also be used to assess the environmental performance. For that purpose we consider different impacts of material flows, and different scales and perspectives of the analysis, and distinguish between turnover‐based indicators of generic environmental pressure and impact‐based indicators of specific environmental pressure. Indicators such as TMR and TMC are regarded as generic pressure indicators that may not be used to indicate specific environmental impacts. The TMR of industrial countries is discussed with respect to the question of whether volume and composition may be regarded as unsustainable.
Stefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Stephan Moll. Rationale for and Interpretation of Economy-Wide Materials Flow Analysis and Derived Indicators. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2003, 7, 43 -64.
AMA StyleStefan Bringezu, Helmut Schütz, Stephan Moll. Rationale for and Interpretation of Economy-Wide Materials Flow Analysis and Derived Indicators. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 2003; 7 (2):43-64.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Bringezu; Helmut Schütz; Stephan Moll. 2003. "Rationale for and Interpretation of Economy-Wide Materials Flow Analysis and Derived Indicators." Journal of Industrial Ecology 7, no. 2: 43-64.
S. Bringezu; S. Moll; H. Schütz. Der Stoffhaushalt nationaler Volkswirtschaften und Aspekte eines nachhaltigen Ressourcenmanagements. TATuP - Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis 2002, 11, 16 -25.
AMA StyleS. Bringezu, S. Moll, H. Schütz. Der Stoffhaushalt nationaler Volkswirtschaften und Aspekte eines nachhaltigen Ressourcenmanagements. TATuP - Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis. 2002; 11 (1):16-25.
Chicago/Turabian StyleS. Bringezu; S. Moll; H. Schütz. 2002. "Der Stoffhaushalt nationaler Volkswirtschaften und Aspekte eines nachhaltigen Ressourcenmanagements." TATuP - Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis 11, no. 1: 16-25.