The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently released a comprehensive report on the trends of "material flows" and "resource productivity" in the Asia-Pacific region, warning that the current rate of resource consumption in the region may not be able to support its rapid economic growth and lifestyle changes. The report also emphasizes that the region's "material intensity," which is the amount of material consumed per dollar of GDP, is three times that of other parts of the world and requires serious attention.
The trend report points out that from 1970 to 2008, the Asia-Pacific region saw a 13.4-fold increase in consumption of minerals for construction, an 8.6-fold increase in metal ores and industrial minerals, a 5.4-fold increase in fossil fuels, and a 2.7-fold increase in bioenergy. Data shows that at this rate of consumption, the region will become increasingly reliant on imports for its material needs and will be unable to sustain its economic growth and lifestyle changes. The current rate of consumption also has negative environmental impacts.
Although the UNEP report did not include Taiwan, Taiwan has also established a material flow database construction project under the National Science Council. According to the analysis in 2011, Taiwan's total amount of extracted and imported materials was nearly 400 million tons. Of the materials produced, 280 million tons were air pollutants emitted into the environment, while 42 million tons were exported.
Professor Li Yuming, who participated in the research, pointed out that "material flow analysis" is a systematic method used to analyze the use of materials in a specific area and to examine the flow of materials from mining, use to disposal. The National Science Council's material flow database has been updated to 2011, and the research results for 2012 are expected to be released by the end of 2013.
Faced with this immense environmental pressure, a recent UK conference summarized 15 studies and published a "Material Efficiency White Paper," whose recommendations are worth considering: In response to the challenge of large-scale global resource depletion, in addition to improving material efficiency, it is also necessary to reduce the total amount of materials used; otherwise, the benefits of efficiency gains are often overshadowed by the negative effects of increased total consumption. The research provides an overview of material efficiency, concluding that it is not enough to simply reduce the materials used per unit of output; besides designing smaller products, it is also necessary to reduce the total amount of materials used.
The study further points out that the four greenhouse gas emission reduction methods commonly proposed by industry players—material recycling, material substitution, decarbonization of electricity, and carbon capture and storage—are still insufficient to meet the carbon reduction requirements. Material efficiency measures are also needed, such as lightweight design, reducing output losses, repurposing production waste, reusing parts, using longer-life products, and more intensive use, such as leasing instead of selling.
The study also explored the difficulties in implementing material efficiency measures, particularly regarding the setting of carbon prices. It concluded that even if the international community agrees on high carbon prices, unless the tax system is overhauled, businesses may still prioritize lower labor costs over material production efficiency. This issue depends on strong political leadership to create a materially efficient society with a high sense of well-being.
Sources: Environmental Information Center (2013-05-09
