News
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IRP Co-Chair Janez Potočnik presents the Benefits of Circular Economy
26 February 2021A UN webinar on The Benefits of a Circular Economy for Achieving Climate Objectives and Recovering Better took place on February 25th as a pre-event of the World Circular Economy Forum and COP26 Climate Conference. This event was co-hosted by...
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Task Group of IRP and One Planet network releases final report for UNEA5
11 February 2021In advance of the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly, the Task Group of the One Planet network and International Resource Panel (IRP) has released its final report showcasing the ‘Value-Chain Approach,’ a methodology for science-based policy...
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IRP First Virtual Biannual Meeting Welcomes High-level UNEP and UNDP Representatives
23 October 2020UNEP Executive Director, Ms. Inger Andersen, delivered opening remarks ‘International Resource Panel: a new era of social and economic prosperity’ (read her opening remarks here) at 26th Meeting of the International Resource...
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Resource Efficiency and Climate Change Full Report Launch at UNFCCC Race to Zero Dialogues
13 November 2020Emissions from the production of materials like metals, minerals, woods and plastics more than doubled in 1995 - 2015, accounting for almost 25% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. This is equivalent to the total GHG emissions from...
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New policy briefs from UNEP Regional Office in Latin America and the Caribbean use IRP data to promote circular economy
23 July 2020The United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office in Latin America and the Caribbean has developed a series of policy briefs "Articulating social and environmental policy for post-COVID-19 recovery" which suggest policy recommendations...
Events
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19March2021
Webinar: Trade, Resource Extraction & Circular Economy
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10March2021
Sustainable Consumption and Production Hotspot Analysis Tool (SCP-HAT)
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19February2021
Value-Chain Approach to action on Sustainable Consumption and Production
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02February2021
Webinar: Material Efficiency Strategies for Business
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18November2020Report launch
Resource Efficiency and Climate Change Full Report Launch
Meet the Panel members
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Jeffrey Herrick
United States of America
Jeffrey Herrick
United States of America
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.
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Edgar Hertwich
Austria, Norway
Edgar Hertwich
Austria, Norway
Edgar Hertwich lectures and researches life-cycle assessment, sustainable production and consumption, trade and environment, and risk analysis. He has co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has led multiple IRP reports.
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Paul Ekins
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Paul Ekins
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Paul Ekins is Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Resources, and Director of Research at the School of Sustainable Resources and Energy at University College London. He has a PHD in economics.
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Helga Weisz
Germany
Helga Weisz
Germany
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
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Anders Wijkman
Sweden
Anders Wijkman
Sweden
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).
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Mark Swilling
South Africa
Mark Swilling
South Africa
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.
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Heinz Schandl
Austria
Heinz Schandl
Austria
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.
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Michael Obersteiner
Austria
Michael Obersteiner
Austria
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.
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Ashok Khosla
India
Ashok Khosla
India
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.
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Anthony Chiu
Philippines
Anthony Chiu
Philippines
Anthony Chiu is a specialist in industrial engineering, sustainable consumption and production, eco-industrial development, and resource efficient and cleaner production.
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Saleem Ali
Australia, Pakistan, United States of America
Saleem Ali
Australia, Pakistan, United States of America
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.
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Seiji Hashimoto
Japan
Seiji Hashimoto
Japan
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.
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Joanna Kulczycka
Poland
Joanna Kulczycka
Poland
Dr hab. 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.
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Keisuke Nansai
Japan
Keisuke Nansai
Japan
Keisuke Nansai is Head of the International Material Cycles Section, Centre for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan. His expertise includes environmental input-output analysis.
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Hans Bruyninckx
Belgium
Hans Bruyninckx
Belgium
Hans Bruyninckx is the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency. He is expert in European and international environmental policy, the effects of globalization on the governance of environmental issues and sustainable development.
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Maarten Hajer
Netherlands
Maarten Hajer
Netherlands
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.
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Ester van der Voet
Netherlands
Ester van der Voet
Netherlands
Trained as a biologist, Ester van der Voet has vast experience as a lecturer, researcher and editor in the field of Industrial Ecology. Among other posts, she is senior researcher in many EU-projects and has contributed to multiple IRP reports.
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Nabil Z. Nasr
United States of America
Nabil Z. Nasr
United States of America
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.
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Elias T. Ayuk
Cameroon
Elias T. Ayuk
Cameroon
Elias Ayuk is the Director of the UN University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa. He has published widely on the social, economic and policy dimensions of natural resource management, on poverty analysis and institutional capacity building.
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Stefanie Hellweg
Germany
Stefanie Hellweg
Germany
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.
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Izabella Teixeira
Brazil
Izabella Teixeira
Brazil
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.
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Marina Fischer-Kowalski
Austria
Marina Fischer-Kowalski
Austria
Marina Fischer-Kowalski is Professor and former Director of the Institute for Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna.
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Stephen Fletcher
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Stephen Fletcher
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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.
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Antonio M.A. Pedro
Mozambique
Antonio M.A. Pedro
Mozambique
Antonio M.A Pedro is a geologist expert on mineral extraction and sustainable development. He spearheaded the work of the International Study Group on Africa’s Mineral Regimes and the Africa Mining Vision, adopted by the African Union in 2009.
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Porfirio Alvarez-Torres
Mexico
Porfirio Alvarez-Torres
Mexico
Porfirio Álvarez-Torres is a fisheries scientist expert in aquaculture, aquatic invasive species, living marine resources, fisheries science, marine policy, ocean observing systems and ecosystem-based management of marine ecosystems.
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Reid Lifset
United States of America
Reid Lifset
United States of America
Reid Lifset is a Research Scholar and Resident Fellow in Industrial Ecology at Yale University, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Industrial Ecology.
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Stefan Bringezu
Germany
Stefan Bringezu
Germany
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.
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Janez Potočnik
Slovenia
Janez Potočnik
Slovenia
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.
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Bing Zhu
China
Bing Zhu
China
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.
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A. Erinç Yeldan
Turkey
A. Erinç Yeldan
Turkey
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.
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Eeva Primmer
Finland
Eeva Primmer
Finland
Professor 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.
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Yonglong Lu
China
Yonglong Lu
China
Dr Yonglong Lu is a Distinguished Professor, Xiamen University and Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chair of Regional Ecological Risk Assessment and Environmental Management Group.
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Bruno M.C Oberle
Switzerland
Bruno M.C Oberle
Switzerland
Dr. Bruno Oberle is the Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He was a professor at EPFL and Secretary of State for Environment, helping to set up the Global Environmental Facility and the Green Climate Fund.
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Anuradha Ramaswami
United States of America
Anuradha Ramaswami
United States of America
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.
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Stephen Hatfield-Dodds
Australia
Stephen Hatfield-Dodds
Australia
Stephen Hatfield-Dodds is the Executive Director of ABARES, and was the lead author of Australian National Outlook report (2015). He has worked for more than two decades across sustainability research, public policy, and business strategy.
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S. Vijay Kumar
India
S. Vijay Kumar
India
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.
Learn more about us
Who we are
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.
What we do
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.
