Climate & Environment
Sustainable Resource Use
Definition
Sustainable resource use is the management of natural resources — water, soil, forests, fisheries, minerals, energy — so that extraction and consumption stay within the regenerative capacity of renewable resources and the environment's ability to absorb wastes, while non-renewables are used efficiently with substitutes developed. Global material extraction has tripled in fifty years and drives most biodiversity loss and a large share of emissions, making resource efficiency and decoupling central policy objectives.
References
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This reference provides supporting context for how “Sustainable Resource Use” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures the International Resource Panel's assessments, circular economy policy, SDG 8. 4 and 12. 2 targets, and resource productivity strategies.
Why it matters
Every environmental pressure ultimately traces to a resource being used too fast; sustainable resource use is the supply-side definition of living within limits.