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03/14/2019

UN report on sustainability with Kassel participation

Campus news from 13.03.2019: The rapid increase in material extraction is the main cause of climate change and biodiversity loss, according to a report published today (13 March) at the UN Environment Conference in Nairobi, to which Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu from the University of Kassel contributed as one of the main authors. The challenge will become even more acute if the use of resources does not change quickly and systematically.

The use of resources also puts pressure on the natural water balance.

In addition to Bringezu, Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Schaldach and Prof. Dr. Martina Flörke also contributed to the report. All three work at the Center for Environmental Systems Research CESR at the University of Kassel and contributed to the analysis of global land and water use with their teams.

"The report shows that, on the one hand, current trends in resource use are associated with growing environmental and climate impacts, but on the other hand, it is possible to change course in order to make further development manageable within planetary boundaries," explains Bringezu. "90 percent of biodiversity loss and water stress are linked to the extraction and processing of raw materials, particularly in agriculture. Nearly half of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with the extraction and processing of mineral and biomass-based raw materials."

The report continues a series that began in 2017 with a report "Assessing Global Resource Use" coordinated by Prof. Bringezu.

You can find the UN press release here: https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-calls-urgent-rethink-resource-use-skyrockets