Summary: Concerned about economic growth, China and India weakened the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact. Our research suggests decarbonization and growth are independent processes. Delaying one to achieve the other is unnecessary and a wasteful detour. Nobody in the rich world can blame developing countries for wishing to improve their economic

The production of materials causes a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00690-8]. Reducing the use of materials through a more intense utilization of products such as homes or cars, or the construction of lighter and smaller products, will also reduce the energy needed to

Nobody is as affected by the damaging forces of climate change as underdeveloped countries, but these countries face a paradox as they try to mitigate their CO2 emissions. Improving the lives of their citizens will increase the demand for energy and materials — which in turn will make climate change worse.

Material production accounts for close to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions [https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/n9ecw/], but receives little attention compared to energy, meat, or deforestation. In a new report for the International Resource Panel [https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/resource-efficiency-and-climate-change], we show that reducing the use

With current efforts or those committed to under the Paris agreement [https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement] , there is absolutely no chance that humanity will limit the warming of the Earth’s surface to an average of 1.5 degrees Celsius [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/26/global-warming-climate-change-targets-un-report?

Will more expensive metals impede economic growth in the US? As the US government justifies new tariffs  on steel and aluminum imports with their military importance, the role  of metals in society comes into focus. New research shows that metals are an important ingredient in economic upswings [https://t.co/

A potential increase in metal consumption emerges as only concern in a broad-based investigation of the clean-energy transition The history of environmental protection is full of unforeseen  consequences: taller chimneys only led to pollutants spreading wide and  far, and safe refrigerants replacing hydrocarbons turned out to damage  the ozone hole.

While Donald Trump withdraws the US from the Paris climate agreement, the world has tools to reduce the US carbon footprint As the world is in shock about Donald Trump’s erratic but not  unexpected decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate  accord, reactions range from the

Edgar Hertwich [https://theconversation.com/profiles/edgar-hertwich-210836], Yale University [http://theconversation.com/institutions/yale-university-1326]; Anders Arvesen [https://theconversation.com/profiles/anders-arvesen-342635], Norwegian University of Science and Technology [http://theconversation.com/institutions/norwegian-university-of-science-and-technology-715] ; Sangwon Suh [https://theconversation.com/profiles/sangwon-suh-342636], University of California, Santa Barbara [http://t

We think of capital, the assets we use in production, as heavy:  machines, buildings, infrastructure, trucks and railroads. Being  composed mostly of cement and steel, we would expect their production to  cause a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. In  a new paper, we offer a first detailed analysis of the

The entire team of PhD students, PostDocs and professors on the steps of the main building, 17 October 2014 In 2003, I moved to Trondheim to become Director of the Industrial Ecology Programme [http://www.ntnu.edu/indecol/] (IndEcol) of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). In 2015,

The Economics of Energy – What is the cost-effectiveness of energy and climate policies? In a panel debate [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcL4WTeGmPo] with key European policy makers hosted by GE and organized by  ScienceBusiness; I emphasized the need to more systematically  internalize environmental costs, which we have enumerated

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [http://www.ipcc.ch] shows  that hope is not forsaken: rigorous climate politics locally and  nationally has spurred development of new technology sooner than  expected. Increased pressure in the pursuit of climate protection is  still required to reach the 2°C Target. Carbon Budget:

If we want to limit air  pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting unmet demand  in developing countries, renewable electricity is a promising option,  as our new research [http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1312753111] shows. By Edgar Hertwich [http://carbonfootprintofnations.com/author/edgar-hertwich/], Thomas Gibon [http://www.

After 4 years of intensive work, the fifth assessment report of climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [http://mitigation2014.org/]has  finally been published. It says that it is urgent to begin reducing  emissions, otherwise we will not be able to stay below the articulated  limit

I took a deep breath after a brisk climb up the soft hill near the  border to Sweden. The sun peaked out under the clouds and the light was  beautifully reflected by the water of Nesjøen [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesj%C3%B8en],  while reindeer was munching away on

The tragic extinction of species, from the black r [http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/africa/rhino-extinct-species-report/index.html] hinoceros [http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/africa/rhino-extinct-species-report/index.html] to plants remaining undiscovered, is unfortunately one of the hallmarks of humans on the planet. This

I just returned from my weekly trip to the supermarket: in  addition to Kenyan roses, Brazilian melons, Israeli oranges, Dutch  tomatoes, Kiwis from New Zealand, and potatoes from Saudi Arabia (!), I  have, for the first time, found minced beef from Botswana, sold for just  over half the price of the

Surprisingly, a book co-written by a well-known former German  environmental activist presents a strong revisionist story and is able  to capture both headlines [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Vahrenholt] and spot on the best-seller list. I read the book [http://www.amazon.de/Die-kalte-Sonne-Klimakatastrophe-stattfindet/dp/3455502504/ref=sr_1_

It is a sad result of human civilisation that we are driving other species into extinction. A new study [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7401/full/nature11145.html] highlights the main driving forces – rich countries’ consumption. Humans have always affected their environment. Environmental history  is littered with stories