The report discusses some emerging trends within cities that demonstrate that it is possible to decouple urban development and rising rates of resource consumption, in other words resource decoupling.

Permafrost is perennially frozen ground occurring in about 24% of the exposed land surface in the Northern Hemisphere. The distribution of permafrost is controlled by air temperature and, to a lesser extent, by snow depth, vegetation, orientation to the sun and soil properties. Any location with annual average air temperatures below freezing can potentially form...

Provides a non-exhaustive review of policies and initiatives that are promoting the shift towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns. This report identifies examples of effective policies and initiatives being implemented worldwide. It reviews 56 case studies ranging from global multilateral agreements and regional strategies to specific policies and initiatives and shows progress achieved in...

By 2050, humanity could devour an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times its current appetite – unless the economic growth rate is “decoupled” from the rate of natural resource consumption. Developed countries citizens consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per...