The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says the world must start living within its means. 

A new UNEP report says humanity's current consumption patterns are unsustainable, urging immediate and comprehensive policy changes. 

The 2024 Global Resource Outlook, unveiled during the sixth session of the UN Environment Assembly, shows that the extraction of Earth’s natural resources has tripled over the past five decades. 

This surge, predominantly fueled by infrastructure development and elevated consumption levels in upper-middle and high-income countries, poses a severe threat to the global climate, biodiversity, pollution targets, and the very foundation of economic prosperity and human well-being.

According to the report, the extraction of materials is projected to increase by 60 per cent by 2060, a trajectory that could severely undermine efforts to sustain the planet's health and humanity's future. 

The study finds that the growth in resource use since 1970 from 30 to 106 billion tonnes underscores a dramatic impact on the environment, contributing to over 60 per cent of global emissions and 40 per cent of health-related air pollution impacts.

“The triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution is driven from a crisis of unsustainable consumption and production,” says Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director.

“We must work with nature, instead of merely exploiting it.” 

She advocates for reducing the resource intensity of key systems such as mobility, housing, food, and energy as the only viable path to achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

The report shows stark inequalities in global resource consumption, noting that low-income countries use six times fewer materials and generate ten times less climate impact than high-income counterparts. 

It calls for a drastic reduction in material and resource consumption in high consumption regions, while suggesting strategies for increasing the efficiency and value of resource use where necessary.

Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel, called for a reevaluation of economic success models, noting that “meeting human needs must not be resource-intensive”.

He says a global shift towards sustainable consumption and production is needed to ensure a dignified life for all without further environmental degradation.

Specific recommendations include institutionalising resource governance, mainstreaming sustainable consumption, incorporating environmental costs into trade, and fostering circular and resource-efficient business models. 

Such systemic changes aim to peak resource extraction by 2040, significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote sustainable growth and human development.