Humanity will one day colonize Mars - visionaries are convinced of this. But we still only have one planet, the demand for raw materials is increasing and access is becoming more difficult. In addition, the impact of resource use on ecology and people is increasing and we are about to exceed planetary boundaries. Stephan Lutter from the Vienna University of Economics and Business confirms this. Can these limits actually be measured? And what should an ecologically sustainable economic system of the future look like? An interview with the expert on the sustainable use of resources.
Mr.Lutter, humans have "subdued" the earth - this is also reflected in the term Anthropocene used to describe our age. Why are we still dependent on the environment?
Our society functions like a human organism. Like our body, a social system also has a metabolism. In both, something comes in and something goes out - from water to food and air to raw materials. The problem with society is that the more and the dirtier the substances we send through it, the greater the environmental impact. In ecological economics, we assume that there are planetary boundaries. We therefore take a close look at how much of what we use and whether we are reaching these limits.
Yourdissertation is based on the concept of planetary boundaries and that our planet has limits. Which frontiers are we already crossing?
The Planetary Boundaries concept has defined nine categories. It shows that we have crossed the boundary in terms of species extinction and the phosphorus cycle - phosphorus is a fertilizer that is in high demand in agriculture - and that we are in a very risky area in terms of climate change. What also emerges from the concept is that everything seems to be in order in terms of global water consumption. This is a point where we can start discussing. After all, it is difficult to define global limits for water, as regional resources vary greatly.
Planetary Boundaries - the concept
Where are the limits of our planet? An answer to this question was provided in 2009 by a 28-strong team of scientists led by Swedish resilience researcher Johan Rockström. Their concept of Planetary Boundaries defines the ecological limits of the Earth. It was updated in 2015. It comprises nine dimensions: Climate change, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical cycles, land use change, chemical pollution, atmospheric aerosol pollution, ocean acidification, freshwater use and stratospheric ozone depletion. The concept has been adopted in part as a goal of international climate policy.
Theaim of your work is to measure the ecological, economic and social impact of our use of resources and to define threshold values. What indicators are involved?
On the one hand, there are territorial indicators. These measure the consumption of resources within a country - such asCO2 emissions or land use. On the other hand, there are consumption-based indicators. These ask: what resources were used along the value chains of the things we consume in a country? Let's take a car as an example. It contains aluminum. This is extracted from bauxite in a very energy-intensive process, which in turn produces large quantities of waste and wastewater. A car now contains aluminum as a component, but if I calculate its so-called material footprint, I also add to the mass of the aluminum all the raw materials that were used along the individual production steps from the bauxite rock lump to the aluminum component.
Yourfocus is primarily on the topic of global water use. Why should we care where the water for our products comes from?
For example, my work deals with the following questions: How much water is in the agricultural products we consume in the EU? Where does it come from? And what is the water supply like in these areas? One example: If the water for a food product comes from the Indus region in Pakistan and there is a year-round water shortage there, then we as consumers are very likely contributing to this. So it's always about keeping an eye on the big picture - and then drawing conclusions about our consumption and political behavior. Incidentally, water also plays a major role in other sectors: we are currently starting a five-year research project at WU in which I am focusing specifically on global water use in mining. In addition to the issue of water scarcity, the issue of water pollution is also very important here.
Ismining really that relevant?
Of course, there are sectors that consume more water. However, the local effects are particularly serious. It is therefore important to look at what happens to the products afterwards. The mining sector supplies the processing sector with its products and it is only after numerous stages that we hold the finished smartphone in our hands. A lot is involved - and with every smartphone, we have contributed to water pollution in a particular mine. The construction sector is a major user of raw materials. Here, too, we need to ask: Which raw materials are used? How long is the lifespan of the products? Which insulating material is used? What about recycling? Again, it is important to look at the entire value chain in order to identify potential savings.
Manypeople are careful to avoid plastic. At the same time, almost everyone owns a smartphone that contains environmentally harmful raw materials. Do we know too little about the issue?
The general public doesn't know much about it. Only the term "urban mining" is somewhat better known. This involves recovering raw materials from infrastructure or waste that is no longer needed. This means, for example, that a smartphone ideally ends up in the Ö3 wonder bag and the metals are then recycled. In political terms, the circular economy is a current concept here. It's about becoming more efficient and designing products right from the manufacturing stage so that they are easier to repair, replace components and recycle. In reality, however, many measures are still needed - including at a legal and political level - to implement this sustainable concept.
Thecircular economy also plays a role in current global goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Is this enough to preserve the limits of our planet?
It is one piece of the puzzle. However, I don't believe that the circular economy alone is enough. The reason: politically, the focus is primarily on increasing efficiency. But if I become more efficient, I can also sell more and use the same or even more raw materials than before - the much-cited rebound effect occurs. Our goal must be to decouple economic growth from the use of resources. In other words, to grow while consuming fewer resources. Will that even work? That is currently the big question, to which there is still no clear answer.
"It takes courageous people to turn visions for a new economic system into reality." Stephan Lutter, expert in the sustainable use of resources
Keywordbest-case scenario: What do you think our economic system will have to look like in the future for it to be ecologically sustainable?
There are currently a lot of big ideas emanating from this: We need to rethink our entire system. Can an economy function without growth? So far, such concepts have not yet been applied in practice, as no one wants to bear the responsibility for unforeseeable effects. An economy without growth - and the associated reduced need for work - is linked to other hot areas of discussion such as the 30-hour working week or the unconditional basic income. It takes courageous people to put such visions into practice, "learning by doing" so to speak. That is my hope for the future.
Thank you very much for the interview!
About Stephan Lutter
Dr. Stephan Lutter (born 1978 in Vienna) is deputy head of the research group "Sustainable Resource Use" at the Institute for Ecological Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He studied Cultural Engineering and Water Management as well as Natural Resource Management at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna and Lincoln University in New Zealand. He then completed his doctorate in Ecological Economics.
