UNCTAD Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Commodities

and Development 2013 Recent developments and new challenges in commodity markets, and policy options for commodity-based inclusive growth and sustainable development

Room XXVI Palais des Nations

Geneva, Switzerland

Global Policy Options for Promoting Resource Efficiency

by

Bas de Leeuw Managing Director, World Resources Forum (WRF)

21 MARCH 2013

This material has been reproduced in the language and form as it was provided. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNCTAD.

UN

CTA

D M

ult

i-Ye

ar

Exp

ert

Me

eti

ng

on

C

om

mo

dit

ies

an

d D

eve

lop

me

nt

Ge

ne

va

, 2

0-2

1 M

arc

h 2

01

3

Glo

ba

l P

oli

cy O

pti

on

s fo

r P

rom

oti

ng

Re

sou

rce

E

ffic

ien

cy

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s d

e L

ee

uw

M

an

ag

ing

Dir

ecto

r

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rld

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ou

rce

s F

oru

m

ww

w.w

orl

dre

sou

rce

sfo

rum

.org

b

as.

del

eeu

w@

wo

rld

reso

urc

esfo

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rld

po

pu

lati

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14

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05

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1

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6.1

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1804

1960 1974

19

87

2000

2050

1927

14

03

36

72

52

31

19

50

20

00

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50

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sia

22

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fric

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ric

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ort

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me

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uro

pe

13

3

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So

uth

ea

st

As

ia

20

00

Sou

rce:

Pop

ulat

ion

Ref

eren

ce B

urea

u, W

orld

Pop

ulat

ion

Pro

spec

ts: T

he 2

008

Rev

isio

n. H

ighl

ight

s. N

ew Y

ork:

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

.

billion tonnes

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

19

80

20

02

20

20

+200

%

M

eta

l ore

s

Me

tal

ore

s

5.8

+81%

Foss

il energ

y ca

rrie

rs

En

erg

y c

arr

iers

Me

tal

ore

s

10.6

+68%

Bio

mass

b

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ma

ss

En

erg

y c

arr

iers

15.

+114

%

N

on-m

eta

llic

min

era

lsc

O

the

r m

ine

rals

N

otes

: (a

) C

rude

oil,

coa

l, na

tura

l gas

, pea

t; (b

) H

arve

sts

from

agr

icul

ture

and

fore

stry

, mar

ine

catc

hes,

gra

zing

; (c)

Indu

str

Glo

ba

l re

sou

rce

use

19

80

-20

20

So

urc

e: M

ea

suri

ng

Ma

teri

als

Flo

ws

an

d R

eso

urc

e P

rod

ucti

vity

, OE

CD

2

00

8

Re

sou

rce

s a

re g

ett

ing

sca

rce

•P

hys

ica

l li

mit

s

•P

oli

tica

l ri

sks

•P

rice

vo

lati

liti

es

•E

nv

iro

nm

en

t a

nd

he

alt

h

•S

oci

al

lim

its

(po

vert

y, l

ab

or

con

dit

ion

s)

S

ee

Re

sou

rce

Sn

ap

sho

ts a

t h

ttp

://w

ww

.wo

rld

reso

urc

esf

oru

m.o

rg/r

eso

urc

e-s

na

psh

ots

“T

he

ea

rth

is

no

w m

ore

cu

ltiv

ate

d a

nd

de

ve

lop

ed

th

an

eve

r b

efo

re .

.. (

…)

… c

itie

s a

re

spri

ng

ing

up

on

un

pre

ced

en

ted

sca

le.

We

’ve

be

com

e a

bu

rde

n t

o o

ur

pla

ne

t. R

eso

urc

es

are

be

com

ing

sca

rce

, a

nd

so

on

na

ture

wil

l n

o

lon

ge

r b

e a

ble

to

sa

tisf

y o

ur

ne

ed

s.”

Bre

ak

ing

Ne

ws?

So

urc

e:

Qu

intu

s S

ep

tim

us

Flo

ren

s Te

rtu

llia

nu

s

Ro

ma

n t

he

olo

gia

n,

20

0 A

D

“T

he

ea

rth

is

no

w m

ore

cu

ltiv

ate

d a

nd

de

ve

lop

ed

th

an

eve

r b

efo

re …

(…

) …

cit

ies

are

spri

ng

ing

up

on

un

pre

ced

en

ted

sca

le.

We

’ve

be

com

e a

bu

rde

n t

o o

ur

pla

ne

t. R

eso

urc

es

are

be

com

ing

sca

rce

, a

nd

so

on

na

ture

wil

l n

o

lon

ge

r b

e a

ble

to

sa

tisf

y o

ur

ne

ed

s.”

“I t

hre

w i

t aw

ay”

Re

sou

rce

Eff

icie

ncy

- d

eco

up

lin

g

UN

EP,

20

11

… a

nd p

rovid

ing o

pport

unit

ies

for

the p

oor

Consu

min

g a

nd p

roducin

g m

ore

eff

icie

ntl

y a

nd d

iffe

rentl

y .

..

Do

ing

mo

re w

ith

le

ss

Su

sta

ina

ble

an

d in

clu

sive

gro

wth

an

d

de

velo

pm

en

t

"Su

sta

ina

ble

de

velo

pm

en

t is

de

velo

pm

en

t th

at

me

ets

th

e n

ee

ds

of

the

pre

sen

t w

ith

ou

t co

mp

rom

isin

g t

he

ab

ilit

y o

f fu

ture

g

en

era

tio

ns

to m

ee

t th

eir

ow

n n

ee

ds

Two

ke

y c

on

cep

ts:

•th

e c

on

cep

t o

f n

ee

ds,

in

pa

rtic

ula

r e

sse

nti

al

ne

ed

s o

f w

orl

d's

p

oo

r, t

o w

hic

h o

verr

idin

g p

rio

rity

sh

ou

ld b

e g

ive

n;

an

d

•th

e i

de

a o

f li

mit

ati

on

s im

po

sed

by

sta

te o

f te

chn

olo

gy

an

d

soci

al

org

an

isa

tio

n o

n t

he

en

vir

on

me

nt'

s a

bil

ity

to

me

et

pre

sen

t a

nd

fu

ture

ne

ed

s.“

(W

orl

d C

om

mis

sio

n o

n E

nv

iro

nm

en

t a

nd

De

velo

pm

en

t (W

CE

D).

Ou

r co

mm

on

fu

ture

. O

xfo

rd:

Oxf

ord

Un

ive

rsit

y

Pre

ss,

19

87

)

I’m

gla

d t

he

ho

le isn

’t in

ou

r en

d..

.

Glo

ba

l p

oli

cy r

esp

on

se n

ee

de

d

An

aly

sis

3 W

RF

me

eti

ng

s

Top

3 p

rop

ose

d p

oli

cy r

esp

on

ses

1.

Inve

st i

n r

eso

urc

e e

ffic

ien

cy

2.

Inve

st i

n a

lte

rna

tiv

e r

eso

urc

es,

re

ne

wa

ble

e

ne

rgy,

re

cycl

ed

ma

teri

als

(u

rba

n m

inin

g)

3.

Se

cure

su

pp

lie

s (i

nte

rna

tio

na

l co

op

era

tio

n)

WR

F D

ecl

ara

tio

n 2

00

9 (

Da

vos)

• w

orl

d-w

ide

per-

ca

pit

a t

arg

ets

for

na

tura

l

reso

urc

e e

xtr

actio

n a

nd

co

nsu

mp

tio

n

• ab

so

lute

deco

up

lin

g b

etw

ee

n e

con

om

ic

de

ve

lopm

ent

an

d r

esou

rce u

se

• fo

cus r

ese

arc

h a

nd

deve

lop

men

t o

n

incre

asin

g r

eso

urc

e p

rod

uctivity

Ch

air

ma

n’s

sta

tem

en

t W

RF

20

11

(D

avo

s)

•d

ou

ble

re

sou

rce

pro

du

ctiv

ity

by

20

20

an

d r

ea

ch f

ive

fold

in

cre

ase

by

20

50

•Ta

x re

sou

rce

s a

nd

po

llu

tio

n

•S

up

po

rt i

nn

ova

tio

n

•D

eve

lop

pa

rtn

ers

hip

s

•Im

ple

me

nt

pe

rfo

rma

nce

me

asu

rem

en

t

• S

afe

gu

ard

tra

nsp

are

ncy

• E

xplo

re d

riv

ing

fo

rce

s co

nsu

mp

tio

n

15

It’s

all

be

cau

se o

f

con

sum

pti

on

I’d like t

o end

po

vert

y,

stop

violenc

e a

nd r

acism

, and

get

rid o

f po

llut

ion.

Eve

ryon

e s

hou

ld b

e e

qual.

I w

ant

to

dre

ss in

the n

icest

cloth

es,

drive

a g

reat

car,

talk o

n th

e late

st

mob

ile p

hon

e,

and

watc

h m

y b

rand

new D

VD

Wo

rld

be

hin

d t

he

Pro

du

ct

“ ..

. co

nsu

me

rs a

re in

cre

asi

ng

ly i

nte

rest

ed

in

the

"w

orl

d t

ha

t li

es

be

hin

d"

the

pro

du

ct t

he

y

bu

y .

.. t

he

y w

an

t to

kn

ow

ho

w a

nd

wh

ere

an

d

by

wh

om

th

e p

rod

uct

ha

s b

ee

n p

rod

uce

d.

Th

is

incr

ea

sin

g a

wa

ren

ess

ab

ou

t e

nv

iro

nm

en

tal

an

d

soci

al

issu

es

is a

sig

n o

f h

op

e.

Go

vern

me

nts

an

d

ind

ust

ry m

ust

bu

ild

on

th

at“

(K

lau

s To

ep

fer)

Wo

rld

be

hin

d t

he

we

dd

ing

rin

g (

7g

) is

27

00

kg

(fa

cto

r 3

85

,00

0)

F

. S

chm

idt-

Ble

ek,

Fact

or

10

In

stit

ute

, F

ran

ce

17

So

urc

e:

Se

pp

o L

ajo

nn

en

Me

tal

rin

g F

act

or

70

70

Ca

r:

Fact

or

15

LCD

:

Fact

or

3

00

Ce

ll p

ho

ne

:

Fa

cto

r 5

00

PC

:

Fa

cto

r 1

00

0

Ch

air

ma

n’s

sta

tem

en

t W

RF

20

12

(B

eij

ing

)

Sca

rcit

y o

f re

sou

rce

s, i

ncr

ea

sin

g p

rice

s, a

nd

un

sust

ain

ab

le u

se o

f re

sou

rce

s h

ind

er

eco

no

mic

de

ve

lop

me

nt,

le

ad

to

po

ve

rty

an

d s

oci

al

un

rest

an

d p

ose

ris

ks f

or

glo

ba

l

sta

bil

ity

Se

curi

ng

re

sou

rce

su

pp

lie

s

•G

ove

rnm

en

ts n

ee

d t

o b

e a

lert

to

gro

win

g s

pid

er

we

b o

f b

ila

tera

l re

sou

rce

ag

ree

me

nts

, in

pa

rtic

ula

r th

ose

in

volv

ing

de

velo

pin

g a

nd

em

erg

ing

co

un

trie

s

•B

ett

er

reso

urc

e g

ove

rna

nce

(n

eu

tra

l

inte

rna

tio

na

l p

latf

orm

)

Inve

stin

g i

n r

eso

urc

e e

ffic

ien

cy

•In

vest

me

nts

in

mo

re r

eso

urc

e e

ffic

ien

t p

rod

uct

s,

serv

ice

s a

nd

sys

tem

s

•P

ha

sin

g o

ut

de

pe

nd

en

cie

s fo

ssil

fu

els

•S

ust

ain

ab

le b

usi

ne

ss a

nd

cit

y m

an

ag

em

en

t:

en

erg

y e

ffic

ien

t b

uil

din

g,

ren

ew

ab

le m

ate

ria

ls

such

as

wo

od

, m

eta

l re

cycl

ing

, u

rba

n m

inin

g,

ICT

too

ls

Po

lici

es

for

Re

sou

rce

Eff

icie

ncy

•G

ove

rnm

en

ts:

reg

ula

tio

ns,

ta

xes,

aw

are

ne

ss a

nd

info

rma

tio

n,

infr

ast

ruct

ure

•B

usi

ne

ss:

be

tte

r p

rod

uct

s a

nd

se

rvic

es,

be

tte

r

info

rma

tio

n (

reso

urc

e e

ffic

ien

t, l

ess

po

llu

tin

g,

be

tte

r

lab

ou

r co

nd

itio

ns)

•In

div

idu

als

: co

nsu

me

dif

fere

ntl

y, d

o g

oo

d,

an

d s

top

on

ce i

n a

wh

ile

an

d b

e h

ap

py

?

Urb

an

min

ing

A

to

n o

f o

re f

rom

a g

old

min

e y

ield

s 5

gra

ms

of

go

ld

A

to

n o

f ce

ll p

ho

ne

s ca

n y

ield

up

to

15

0 g

ram

s o

f g

old

Urb

an

Min

ing

• d

evelo

pm

ent in

fra

str

uctu

re for

pri

mary

an

d u

rba

n m

inin

g in

Afr

ica

• facili

tation o

f access to g

loba

l

mark

ets

for

the c

om

mod

itie

s

resultin

g fro

m p

rim

ary

and

urb

an

min

ing

• inclu

sio

n o

f in

form

al secto

r

Su

sta

ina

ble

Re

cycl

ing

In

du

stri

es

Pro

gra

m (

SR

I):

Ad

van

ce r

aw

ma

teri

als

ste

wa

rdsh

ip in

de

velo

pin

g c

ou

ntr

ies,

a

chie

ve

sust

ain

ab

le r

eco

very

of

raw

ma

teri

als

(se

con

da

ry m

ate

ria

ls)

an

d h

elp

ma

ke t

he

m a

vail

ab

le f

or

the

in

tern

ati

on

al

ma

rke

t

•N

on

-re

ne

wa

ble

ra

w m

ate

ria

ls (

cop

pe

r, g

old

etc

) o

rig

ina

te i

n m

an

y c

ase

s in

de

velo

pin

g c

ou

ntr

ies

•A

vail

ab

ilit

y o

f m

an

y m

eta

ls (

eg

. ra

re e

art

h e

lem

en

ts)

mo

re c

riti

cal

•E

ffic

ien

t m

an

ag

em

en

t m

ore

im

po

rta

nt

tha

n e

ver,

re

cycl

ing

of

dis

card

ed

co

nsu

me

r

go

od

s

Re

cove

ry o

f se

con

da

ry r

aw

ma

teri

als

ma

inly

do

ne

in

th

e i

nfo

rma

l se

cto

r

~ 2

5’0

00

pe

op

le w

ork

in

th

e

the

info

rma

l p

last

ic

recy

clin

gse

cto

r in

Ne

w

De

lhi,

In

dia

~ 1

0’0

00

wo

rke

rs e

ng

ag

e i

n

the

in

form

al

e-w

ast

e

recy

clin

g s

ect

or

in A

ccra

,

Gh

an

a

25

Th

e p

reva

len

t p

ract

ice

s in

th

e i

nfo

rma

l se

cto

r

be

ar

hig

h r

isks

Po

llu

tio

n

He

alt

h h

aza

rds

Cro

ss c

on

tam

ina

tio

n

Op

en

ca

ble

bu

rnin

g i

s

a m

ajo

r so

urc

e f

or

dio

xin

es

Info

rma

l g

old

le

ach

ers

inh

ale

to

xic

fu

me

s

Th

e l

ea

d c

on

ten

t in

recy

cle

d p

last

ics

oft

en

lie

s a

bo

ve

le

ga

l le

ve

ls

26

Sta

nd

ard

s n

ee

de

d

?

ren

ew

ab

le

seco

nd

ary

n

on

-re

ne

wa

ble

Su

sta

ina

ble

Re

cycl

ing

In

du

stri

es

1.

Imp

rov

em

en

t o

f b

asi

c d

ata

fo

r a

sse

ssin

g t

he

qu

ali

ty o

f se

con

da

ry r

aw

ma

teri

als

(la

ck

of

life

-cyc

le d

ata

). R

eg

ion

al

cen

ters

fo

r co

lle

ctio

n o

f d

ata

to

be

de

velo

pe

d i

n I

nd

ia,

So

uth

Afr

ica

, E

gy

pt

an

d B

razi

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