The International Resource Panel was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2007 to build and share the knowledge needed to improve our use of resources worldwide.
The Panel consists of eminent scientists, highly skilled in resource management issues from both developed and developing regions, civil society, industrial and international organisations. Their reports distil the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic findings around global resource use.
The IRP investigates the world’s most critical resource issues with a view to developing practical solutions for government policymakers, industry and society.
The Panel’s goal is to steer us away from overconsumption, waste and ecological harm to a more prosperous and sustainable future.
Press Release Rich countries use six times more resources, generate 10 times the climate impacts than low-income ones: far exceeding human needs and nature’s capacity Nairobi, 1 March 2024 – Extraction of the Earth’s natural resources tripled...
IRP’s flagship report – The Global Resources Outlook 2024 – is coming soon! The pathway towards sustainability is increasingly steep and narrow, and the window of opportunity is closing. The science is clear: The key question is no longer whether a...
Spotlight discussion - Sustainable raw materials supplies: is the bloc up for the task? Sustainable Future Week - POLITICO From November 14 to 16, POLITICO Live is hosting its fifth annual Sustainability Future Week in Brussels where POLITICO...
Online Lab Event of the World Resources Forum 2023 Innovative Partnerships for Responsible Resource Use in Africa- A Summary This session, which took part at the World Resource Forum 2023, was a collaboration of the International...
The 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) adopted Resolution 5/12 on the environmental aspects of minerals and metals management and requested the convening of intergovernmental regional consultations, followed by a global...
The International Resource Panel @ One Planet Network Forum 2024
The International Resource Panel at UNEA-6
The International Resource Panel @WCEF
Global Resource Outlook 2024 presentation @GLOBE EU
Nairobi
Kenya
31st Meeting of the International Resource Panel
S. Vijay Kumar has directed India’s National Wastelands Development Programme and the National Rural Roads Development Agency. He was also Permanent Secretary of the Ministries of Rural Development and Mines. He is now Distinguished Fellow at TERI.
Bing Zhu is Professor and Director of Institute for Circular Economy at Tsinghua University. He is an expert in circular economy assessment, techno-economic analysis and industrial park green development.
Seiji Hasjimoto’s research interests include assessment methodologies and system design for sustainable resource and waste management, from extraction of resources to disposal. He is a Professor at Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
Stefanie Hellweg is professor of ecological systems design at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, where she is working on modelling, evaluating and improving the environmental impact of products, technologies and consumption patterns.
Jeff Herrick works at the US Department of Agriculture and has adjunct appointments at New Mexico State University and the University of Colorado. He is expert in resistance and resilience in arid and semi-arid ecosystems and in land management.
Maarten Hajer is distinguished professor of Urban Futures at Utrecht University, and a former Director-General of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. He has published widely on environmental politics and urban planning.
Anu Ramaswami is an expert on urban infrastructure whose work has formed the basis for sustainable cities in the US and internationally. Her research includes integrating science and technology with policy and planning for real-world implementation.
Paul Ekins is Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at the Institute for Sustainable Resources in the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources at University College London. He has a PhD in economics from the University of London
Janez Potočnik is Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel. Among other roles, he is Partner at SYSTEMIQ and advisor to thought-leading institutions such as the European Forest Institute. Before, he was European Commissioner for the Environment.
Stephen Fletcher is a marine scientist with extensive experience in coastal and marine science policy. He currently heads the Marine Programme of UN Environment’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and has published over 85 peer-reviewed papers.
Helga Weisz is an industrial ecologist. She is Full Professor of Industrial Ecology and Climate Change at Humboldt University Berlin and Affiliated Professor at the Institute of Social Ecology of Alpen-Adria University in Vienna
Nabil Nasr is Director of Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology. His fields of expertise are sustainable production, remanufacturing, cleaner production, and sustainable product development.
Heinz Schandl is senior principal scientist at Australia’s CSIRO, where his research includes measuring and modelling sustainability to explore the links between public policy and social theory and metabolism as a path to SCP and green economy.
Elias T. Ayuk is the Director of Policy Advisory Services at CHAINT Afrique Academy. He has published widely on the social, economic and policy dimensions of natural resource management, on poverty analysis and institutional capacity building.
Anthony Chiu is a specialist in industrial engineering, sustainable consumption and production, eco-industrial development, and resource efficient and cleaner production.
Michael Obersteiner is Director of the Ecosystems Services and Management Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. He has worked for national and international organizations, writing over 100 scientific papers.
Erinç Yeldan is Acting Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Bilkent University. His recent work focuses on development macroeconomics and economics of climate change, with emphasis on the Turkish economy.
Dom Kniveton is Professor of Climate Change and Society at the University of Sussex. His research spans issues of development, climate change, disaster risk, complexity and decision-making, migration and health.
Joanna Kulczycka is Professor at the AGH University of Science and Technology, Director of The Highway to Technology, the Innovation Institute and President of the Waste Management and Recycling Cluster – Key National Clusters in Poland.
Trained as a biologist, Ester van der Voet has vast experience as a lecturer, researcher and editor in the field of Industrial Ecology. She is full professor of Sustainable Resource Use at the Institute of Environmental Sciences at Leiden University.
Hans Bruyninckx is Professor of Environmental Governance at University of Antwerp, Belgium. He is the Former Executive Director of the European Environment Agency. His expertise lies in the field of European and international environmental policy.
Bruno Oberle is President of the World Resources Forum. He was a professor at EPFL, Director General of the IUCN, and Secretary of State for Environment, helping to set up the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund.
Eeva Primmer is the Research Director of the Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE. Her research interest is in the governance of nature, ecosystem services and natural resources.
Stefan Bringezu is Director at the Centre of Environmental Systems Research at Kassel University. He is pioneer of material flow analysis and a founding member of the International Society for Industrial Ecology.
Keisuke Nansai is Director of Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan. His expertise includes environmental input-output analysis.
Izabella Teixeira is Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel. She is an expert in environmental management, impact assessment and licensing. She is the former Environment Minister of Brazil and was named a Champion of the Earth in 2013.
Mark Swilling is Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at Stellenbosch University. He has vast experience in policy analysis, has published widely, and has coordinated large projects. He holds the Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer award.
Edgar Hertwich lectures and researches life-cycle assessment, sustainable production and consumption, trade and environment, and risk analysis. He has co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has led multiple IRP reports.
Reid Lifset is a Research Scholar and Resident Fellow in Industrial Ecology at Yale University.
Anders Wijkman is co-president of the Club of Rome, chairman of the Swedish Association of Recycling Industries, senior advisor to the Stockholm Environment Institute. He is co-author of Bankrupting Nature (2012).
Saleem Ali's research interests are in the causes and consequences of environmental conflicts in the mineral sector. He teaches environmental planning. conflict resolution and industrial ecology, and is a member of the Governance Working Group.
Ashok Khosla has served on the boards of numerous global environmental organizations, including the Club of Rome, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the World Conservation Union. He is a former co-chair of the IRP.
Steve Hatfield-Dodds is an honorary Professor of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU). He has a distinguished track record of working at the intersection of sustainability research, public policy and business strategy.