The material basis of the global economy: Worldwide patterns of natural resource extraction and their implications for sustainable resource use policies

Abstract

This paper presents the first comprehensive quantification of the material basis of the global economy, i.e. used domestic extraction in a time series from 1980 to 2002. It analyses time trends for major material groups (fossil fuels, metals, industrial and construction minerals, and biomass) disaggregated into seven world regions.

Keywords

• environmental policy
• global resource use
• international trade
• material flow analysis
• sustainable development indicators