The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned that the world’s consumption of raw materials will rise sharply, putting greater pressure on the environment.
The Paris-based think tank said that with a growing global population and rising living standards, the amount of raw materials used each year will increase to 167 gigatonnes by 2060, from 90 gigatonnes today.
The OECD said increased extraction and processing of wood, oil, gas, metals and building materials “is likely to worsen pollution of air, water and soils, and contribute significantly to climate change”.
In a report presented during a meeting in Yokohama, Japan, the OECD said carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and production of iron, cement and other materials could almost double to 50 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2060.
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