JRC-ESTO Environmental Impact of the Use of Natural Resources

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Environmental Impact of the Use of Natural Resources, Nielsen, Per H.; Tukker, Arnold; Weidema, Bo P.; Lauridsen, Erik H.; Notten, Philippa; Eder, Peter (editor), (2004), EUR No: 21485 EN, ISBN: 92-894-8801-8, (OPOCE): LF-NA-21485-EN-N

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Abstract

This report, that analyses the relationships between resource use and environmental impacts, was produced at the request of the Environment Directorate General of the European Commission in support of the development of a 'thematic strategy on the sustainable use of natural resources' that was called for by the EU's Sixth Environment Action Programme. The project was sponsored and supervised by the JRC-IPTS with ESTO as the operating agent. It does so by reviews the existing body of research to identify those materials and resources the use of which has the greatest environmental impacts. The study also elaborates proposals for developing further scientific input to the Resources Strategy.

These are based on the conclusion that the knowledge base on the environmental questions of the EU's resource policy is incomplete. In particular, there is a lack of understanding concerning the causal relationships between resource use and environmental impacts as the currently available studies in general do not correlate impacts with resource use, let alone to structurally analyse causal relations. They give only a partial picture of the environmental "hot spots" within the uses of one resource, and across different resource types.

The report further suggests there are three strategies to overcome such knowledge gaps

• Exploit thoroughly the models behind the existing studies with a focus on the relation between resources and environmental impacts.
• Make a selection of the resources a priori seen as most relevant, and perform for each of them Substance Flow Analyses or other adequate resource-specific analyses.
• Set up and use for the analysis a detailed European NAMEA (National Accounting Matrices extended by Environmental Accounts), specified from the outset in a way that takes into account the information needs of the EU's resources strategy (European top-down approach).

The authors express a clear preference for the third option

Contents

Preface
Executive summary

1. Introduction
2. Critical summary of information extracted from literature
2.1 The relationship between resource use and environmental impacts
2.2 The driving forces for resource use and environmental impacts
2.3 Valuing and weighting the use of resources and the related impacts
2.4 Methods for investigating the use of resources and the related impacts
2.5 Conclusions
3. Proposals for developing further the scientific input to the resources strategy
3.1 Generic challenges of scientific input to a resources strategy
3.2 Gaps in knowledge concerning what determines the environmental impacts of resource use
3.3. Proposal for improving the knowledge base
3.4 Conclusions
4. References
Annex: Evaluation reports on the eight considered studies