The report, Resource Efficiency-Economics and Outlook for Asia and the Pacific, estimates that per capita resource consumption of materials in the region—such as construction materials, minerals and fuels—needs to be around 80 per cent less than today to achieve sustainable development.

However, it highlights that there are enormous opportunities to boost dramatically the region’s resource efficiency and in doing so boost economic growth; generate new kinds of clean-tech industries; and reduce, if not overturn, losses linked with environmental degradation. There is a current window of opportunity to support this adaptation.

Prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners, and led by Dr Heinz Schandl from CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship, the report says the Asia-Pacific’s dynamic growth of the past few decades has reduced poverty and increased wealth and per capita incomes.

This research and its significance for the Asia Pacific region will be discussed at the Australian launch of the report on Tuesday, 27 September at the Hotel Kurrajong in Canberra.