International trade is indispensable in enabling countries to meet demand for vital resources, which are not available, accessible or affordable domestically. However, it is precisely the attendant impact trade has on ...

The report calls for moving beyond the established paradigm of the ‘Social License to Operate’, towards a new governance reference point that enables public, private and other relevant actors in the extractive sector to ...

This booklet summarizes the first two reports of the Global Metals Flows Group - Metal Stocks in Society: Scientific Synthesis and The Recycling Rates of Metals: A Status Report. UNEP's International Resource Panel for ...

This particular report was prepared by the IRP’s Working Group on Environmental Impacts, with the aim to enhance knowledge on the nature, location and size of the environmental impacts of trade. It provides a comprehensive ...

IRP report finds trade shifting burden of environmental impacts to developing economies

Recycling rates of metals are far lower than potential for reuse. Less than one-third of 60 studied have a recycling rate above 50 per cent, though many are crucial to clean technologies such as batteries for hybrid cars ...

The unique properties of metals make them essential for many applications and future global demand is predicted to increase. Given this relevance the report of UNEP’s International Resource Panel on “Environmental Risks ...

How metals determine our lives

Over the past five decades, our global population has doubled, the extraction of materials has tripled and gross domestic product has quadrupled. The extraction and processing of natural resources has accelerated over the ...

The world is experiencing an unprecedented moment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For us at the International Resource Panel (IRP) it is also a moment to reflect. This document provides policy recommendations extracted ...