The Metabolic Transition in Japan

discussed among the widerpublic. Pressure points in-cluding climate change,waterandfoodavailability,price surges for strategicraw materials, and peakingglobal oil supply are con-verging rapidly in an un-precedented manner. Thecurrent global patterns ofproduction and consump-tion are hitting the reallimitsofglobalecosystems.The global economy seems to be at a turningpoint where decisions are urgent while informa-tion is incomplete.The urgency of addressing issues of industrialmetabolism

Material flow and material footprint in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar

The physical economy of the European Union: Cross-country comparison and determinants of material consumption

Literature on material flow accounting has increasingly emphasized the need for an equitable resource allocation for least developed countries (LDCs) considering their future growth and the social outcomes (e.g., poverty alleviation) they intend to deliver. This paper aims to project Nepal’s domestic material consumption (DMC)—scale and structure for different economic growth scenarios. We also investigate the causal impact of exogenous factors: (1) external financial inflows, such as the remittance and official development assistance (ODA); (2) services value-added; (3) population; and (4) economic growth on DMC by material types (e.g. biomass, fossil fuels, non-metallic minerals, and metal ores). We use the R tools, ridge regression and its machine learning algorithms, the autoregressive-distributed lag approach, and the abovementioned variables’ time-series data between 1993 and 2017 as methodological and data tools. While Nepal’s absolute DMC will increase even in the low-growth scenario, we found that the biomass-based DMC prevalent in many LDCs, including Nepal, will be non-metallic minerals-based—a material consumption trait of existing middle-income and emerging economies. Despite this, the United Nations’ LDC graduation growth pathway, often assumed to deliver sustainable development objectives by policymakers in LDCs, including Nepal, is material intensive. The increase in the gross domestic product per capita, remittance, and ODA cause a rise in DMC because of their strong correlation and causal relationship. In these circumstances, we suggest policy measures that can leverage present consumption-oriented remittances as a source of investment in up-scaling small-scale modern renewable energy technologies across the residential sector, particularly in rural areas. We suggest this policy measure considering the future rise in non-metallic minerals and the challenges to reduce it because of the rising urbanization.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-18050-9.

Material flow accounting in an Irish city-region 1992–2002

The basic characteristics of the size and composition of material flows depend on the respective stage of countries’ metabolic transition from an agrarian to an industrial society. On a global level, resource use grew between 1950 and 2010 by a factor of 3.7 to 71 Gt (gigatons) per year. Moreover, the spectrum of resources used by industrializing societies broadened to include significant amounts of metals, nonmetallic minerals and fossil energy carriers in addition to biomass resources. However, there are large differences in material flow patterns within groups of countries with similar levels of industrialization and economic development. Of the multitude of possible approaches to interpreting and understanding differences in country-wide patterns of resource extraction and use, in this chapter, we will focus on the impacts of population, resource endowment, trade and economic wealth. The world’s poorest and least developed countries typically have a very low metabolic rate, and biomass dominates their domestic material consumption (DMC). The richer a country is and the more industrialized it becomes, the higher its per capita DMC and the higher its share of mineral materials. This is particularly the case for fossil energy carriers, of which significant shares are traded internationally. Linking these drivers to patterns of material use is a worthwhile effort in understanding current developments of resource use and, hence, future directions toward sustainability.

A transitional perspective of global and regional mineral material flows

Does economic recession reduce material use? Empirical evidence based on 157 economies worldwide

Summary Material flow‐based indicators play an important role in measuring green and resource‐efficient growth. This article examines the global flows of materials and the amounts of materials directly and indirectly necessary to satisfy domestic final demand in different countries world‐wide. We calculate the indicator Raw Material Consumption (RMC), also referred to as material footprint (MF), by applying a global, multiregional input‐output model based on the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and extended by material extraction data. We examine world‐wide patterns of material extraction and materials embodied in trade and consumption, investigating changes between 1997 and 2007. We find that flows of materials related to international trade have increased by almost 60% between 1997 and 2007. We show that the differences in MFs per capita are huge, ranging from up to 100 tonnes in the rich, oil‐exporting countries to values as low as 1.5 to 2.0 tonnes in some developing countries. We also quantify the differences between the indicators Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) and RMC, illustrating that net material exporters generally have a DMC larger than RMC, whereas the reverse is observed for net importers. Finally, we confirm the fact that most countries with stable or declining DMCs actually show increasing RMCs, indicating the occurrence of leakage effects, which are not fully captured by DMC. This challenges the world‐wide use of DMC as a headline indicator for national material consumption and calls for the consideration of upstream material requirements of international trade flows.

Implementing the Results of Material Flow Analysis

Consumption-based material flow indicators — Comparing six ways of calculating the Austrian raw material consumption providing six results

The circular economy has become an fundamental framework to achieve sustainable economic growth by decreasing dependence on limited natural resources and by mitigating environmental effects. This study examines the association between circular economy metrics, as defined by the National Institute of Statistics and Romania’s economic performance, specifically regarding Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Starting from a top-down analysis, we have initially examined which variables have a significant relationship with GDP and afterwards what other factors influencing these variables. The results indicate a robust positive association between GDP and the growth of environmental technology as well as renewable energy. This outcome underscores how important sustainability-oriented economic initiatives are. Nevertheless, higher GDP is also associated with increased material consumption, which highlights the difficulties of reconciling economic expansion with resource efficiency. The second step was to determine which factors influence these variables. The findings indicate that higher gross value added in environmental technology could be achieved by increasing the amount of raw materials imported, of recyclable materials import and of raw materials export. When it comes to the share of renewable energy, it has been established that the most is used for electricity and the least for transportation. In term of material footprint, with found a negative significant correlation with material and natural resource productivity, as well as with green sector employment and with share of renewable electric heating and cooling. On contrary, material footprint has a positive relation with share of renewable energy use transport and share of renewable electric energy. The fourth examined variable is domestic material consumption, which decreases with higher amount of green sector employment, higher natural and material resource productivity, lower material intensity as well as lower material footprint. All our findings indicate that the transition to sustainability would require policy-driven investments, infrastructural improvements and behavioral changes.

The importance of raw material equivalents in economy-wide material flow accounting and its policy dimension

Shock persistency to material consumption, renewable and non-renewable energy resources? A (non)linear evidence from the highest carbon emitting countries

<abstract> <p>Consumption of nine different natural resources has kept an increasing trend in Central African countries from 1970 to 2018. This study therefore, investigates the changes and major determinants that have driven the patterns of resource use in six Central African countries over almost fifty years. We used the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method to quantitatively analyze different effects of technology, affluence and population associated with domestic material consumption (DMC) of Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon from 1970 to 2018. We further subdivided the affluence effect into energy productivity (GDP/energy) and per capita energy use (energy/cap) and conducted a four-factor LMDI analysis of Cameroon as a case study. The results highlight that decreased affluence during certain periods has slowed down DMC growth in four of six Central African countries except for Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, while significant technology offset in Equatorial Guinea reduces DMC growth by 28%. Population remains the main positive driving factor of DMC growth, with the highest share in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The case of Cameroon shows that technological intensity and energy intensity play different roles in changing DMC. This study confirms that the rising population and economic growth, combined with a gradual improvement in technology in the region are insufficient to reduce natural resource use. A stringent management plan of natural resources for Central African countries should focus on technological improvement while remaining balanced with the future demand for socioeconomic development in the coming decades.</p> </abstract>