International Resource Panel
 |
|
| Formation | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | Independent scientific panel |
|
Key people
|
Janez Potočnik and Alicia Bárcena Ibarra (co-chairs) |
|
Parent organisation
|
UNEP |
| Website | www.unep.org/resourcepanel |
The International Resource Panel is a scientific panel of experts that aims to help nations use natural resources sustainably without compromising economic growth and human needs. It provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on a variety of areas, including:
The Secretariat of the IRP is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) through its office in Paris, France.
Supported by a small Secretariat, the International Resource Panel comprises 36 expert members drawn from a wide range of academic institutions and scientific organizations (see table below). It is co-chaired by Janez Potočnik, former European Environment Commissioner, and Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Its Steering Committee includes over 20 governments as well as the EC, OECD, UN Environment and civil society organizations including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and International Council for Science (ICSU).
While climate change and biodiversity loss have emerged as the world’s most pressing environmental issues in recent decades, both issues are increasingly being seen as symptomatic of a broader problem of overuse of resources and lack of attention to the impacts on the environment they cause. The resources in question include materials (fossil fuels, biomass, construction minerals and metals), water, land and energy.
The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found that rapid rises in human demands for natural resources have caused substantial and irreversible loss of biodiversity Our current rate of consumption of resources such as fossil fuels, metals, water and timber, is unsustainable and inequitable. WWF has pointed out that if we continue to consume resources at current levels, by 2050 we will need two planet’s worth of natural materials to support the human race.
...
Wikipedia