ИСТИНА

Natural resources, especially raw materials, are key production factors and are therefore foundations of our prosperity. More than 68 billion tonnes of raw materials were used worldwide in 2009. This is around one third more than in 2000, two thirds more than in 1990 and about twice as much as at the end of the 1970s. With a predicted world population of over 9 billion people in 2050 and rapid economic growth in newly industrialising countries, demand for raw materials continues to grow strongly. Per capita consumption of raw materials is currently about four times greater in industrialised countries than in less developed countries. This is a major challenge from an economic, ecological and social perspective. Rising and fluctuating raw material prices and supply risks are a strain on the world economy. It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain some key raw materials such as crude oil, cobalt and heavy rare earths from readily accessible sources. At the same time, resource use has adverse environmental effects across the entire value chain, ranging from the emission of greenhouse gases, to the release of pollutants into the air, water and soil, to the degradation of ecosystems and biodiversity. The current use of natural resources already far exceeds the Earth’s regenerative capacity.