Trade in material resources – biomass, fossil fuels, metals, and minerals – has increased by more than 90% in the past two decades.
Did you know?
Just launched
Sustainable Trade in Resources
This report looks at trade flows of material resources and their environmental impacts. It also demonstrates how both multilateral trade rules and regional trade agreements can be used proactively to advance the circular and greener economy and minimize the environmental impacts associated with resource extraction.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Edgar Hertwich
Austria
Edgar Hertwich
Austria
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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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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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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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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Reid Lifset
United States of America
Reid Lifset
United States of America
Reid Liset is a Research Scholar and Resident Fellow in Industrial Ecology at Yale University, Associate Director of the Industrial Environmental Management Program, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Industrial Ecology.
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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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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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Izabella Teixeira
Brazil
Izabella Teixeira
Brazil
Izabella Teixeira is a expert in environmental management, impact assessment and licensing. As Environment Minister, she led Brazil’s negotiations of the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015. She was named a Champion of the Earth in 2013.
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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.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 IRP. He has held many important positions and has extensive experience in the realm of environment, economics and European Affairs. In September 2013 he received the United Nation's Champions of the Earth Award.
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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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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.
Save the date
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16November2020
UNEP-IRP Trade Report Launch at WTO-UNEP High-Level Event
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18November2020Report launch
Resource Efficiency and Climate Change Full Report Launch
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19October2020
26th meeting of the International Resource Panel
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05November2019
Bled
SloveniaMeeting25th meeting of the International Resource Panel
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22October2018
Yokohama
JapanConferenceWorld Circular Economy Forum 2018
News
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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...
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IRP Delivers Messages on UNCCD 2020 Desertification and Drought Day Global Observance Event
17 June 2020The International Resource Panel (IRP) Co-Chair Janez Potočnik and Expert Panel Member Dr. Jeff Herrick were invited by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to record a video for the 2020 Desertification and Drought Day...
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Webinar in Spanish: Resource Efficiency and Climate Change
17 March 2020The great potential of resource-efficient strategies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) has increasingly been recognized. In this context, the International Resource Panel was invited to present the main findings from its recent...
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The Secretariat of the International Resource Panel welcomes Ms Merlyn Van Voore as the new Head
19 February 2020Ms Merlyn Van Voore has been appointed Head of the Secretariat of the International Resource Panel. She took up duty on 17 February 2020. The International Resource Panel was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme in...
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.
