FINEPRINT (Spatially explicit material footprints: Fine-scale assessment of Europe's global environmental and social impacts)
Type Research Project
- European Research Council
Duration July 1, 2017 - Dec. 31, 2022
Tags
Press 'enter' for creating the tagAbstract (German)
In the era of globalisation, supply chains are increasingly organised on the international level, thus disconnecting final consumption from the location of material extraction and related environmental and social impacts. Reducing these global impacts ¿ or footprints ¿ of European consumption is a major societal and scientific challenge. Methods to assess teleconnections between distant places of raw material extraction and consumption along global supply chains have improved significantly, with multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis being the most prominent method applied. However, the limited spatial resolution of MRIO models distorts footprint calculations, as specific properties of raw materials as well as impacts of extraction can vary significantly within production countries. I therefore propose a new method for the calculation of fine-scale material consumption footprints. It will encompass (1) a spatial assessment of global material extraction on a high-resolution grid and (2) a detailed physical model that tracks raw materials from the location of extraction via international transport facilities to processing industries in importing countries. Integrating this very detailed spatial information with a MRIO model will enable the first fine-scale assessment of European countries¿ material footprints, overcoming prevailing aggregation errors in footprint indicators. Furthermore, I will investigate environmental and social impacts related to material footprints through linking the spatially explicit multi-regional material flow model with datasets on impacts related to raw material extraction, such as increasing water scarcity, deforestation and mining conflicts. This project will not only lift the accuracy of footprint models to a new level, but will also open up a range of options for sustainability assessments of specific commodity flows. Building on this knowledge, targeted policy instruments for sustainable product supply chains can be designed.
Abstract (English)
In the era of globalisation, supply chains are increasingly organised on the international level, thus disconnecting final consumption from the location of material extraction and related environmental and social impacts. Reducing these global impacts ¿ or footprints ¿ of European consumption is a major societal and scientific challenge. Methods to assess teleconnections between distant places of raw material extraction and consumption along global supply chains have improved significantly, with multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis being the most prominent method applied. However, the limited spatial resolution of MRIO models distorts footprint calculations, as specific properties of raw materials as well as impacts of extraction can vary significantly within production countries. I therefore propose a new method for the calculation of fine-scale material consumption footprints. It will encompass (1) a spatial assessment of global material extraction on a high-resolution grid and (2) a detailed physical model that tracks raw materials from the location of extraction via international transport facilities to processing industries in importing countries. Integrating this very detailed spatial information with a MRIO model will enable the first fine-scale assessment of European countries¿ material footprints, overcoming prevailing aggregation errors in footprint indicators. Furthermore, I will investigate environmental and social impacts related to material footprints through linking the spatially explicit multi-regional material flow model with datasets on impacts related to raw material extraction, such as increasing water scarcity, deforestation and mining conflicts. This project will not only lift the accuracy of footprint models to a new level, but will also open up a range of options for sustainability assessments of specific commodity flows. Building on this knowledge, targeted policy instruments for sustainable product supply chains can be designed.
Publications
Journal article
| 2022 |
Ye, Quanliang, Bruckner, Martin, Wang, Ranran, Schyns, Joep F, Zhuo, La, Yang, Lan, Su, Han, Krol, Maarten S. 2022. A hybrid multi-regional input-output model of China: Integrating the physical agricultural biomass and food system into the monetary supply chain. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 177
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Nikas, Alexandros, Xexakis, Georgios, Koasidis, Konstantinos, Acosta-Fernández, José, Arto, Iñaki, Calzadilla, Alvaro, Domenech, Teresa, Gambhir, Ajay, Giljum, Stefan, Gonzalez-Eguino, Mikel, Herbst, Andrea, Ivanova, Olga, van Sluisveld, Mariësse, Van De Ven, Dirk-Jan, Karamaneas, Anastasios, Doukas, Haris. 2022. Coupling circularity performance and climate action: From disciplinary silos to transdisciplinary modelling science. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 30 269-277.
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| Sun, Zhongxiao, Scherer, Laura, Tukker, Arnold, Spawn-Lee, Seth A., Bruckner, Martin, Gibbs, Holly K., Behrens, Paul. 2022. Dietary change in high-income nations alone can lead to substantial double climate dividend. Nature Food. | (Details) | ||
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Sun, Zhongxiao, Behrens, Paul, Tukker, Arnold, Bruckner, Martin, Scherer, Laura. 2022. Global Human Consumption Threatens Key Biodiversity Areas. Environmental Science and Technology.
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Hickel, Jason, Dorninger, Christian, Wieland, Hanspeter, Suwandi, Intan. 2022. Imperialist appropriation in the world economy: Drain from the global South through unequal exchange, 1990–2015. Global Environmental Change. 73 (10246)
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Sun, Zhongxiao, Behrens, Paul, Tukker, Arnold, Bruckner, Martin, Scherer, Laura. 2022. Shared and environmentally just responsibility for global biodiversity loss. Ecological Economics. 194
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| 2021 |
Helander, Hanna, Bruckner, Martin, Leipold, Sina, Petit-Boix, Anna, Bringezu, Stefan. 2021. Eating healthy or wasting less? Reducing resource footprints of food consumption. Environmental Research Letters. 16 (5), 054033
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Dorninger, Christian, Hornborg, Alf, Absona, David, von Wehrden, Henrik, Schaffartzik, Anke, Giljum, Stefan, Engler, John-Oliver, Feller, Robert, Hubacek, Klaus, Wieland, Hanspeter. 2021. Global patterns of ecologically unequal exchange: Implications for sustainability in the 21st century. Ecological Economics. 179
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Kuschnig, Nikolas. 2021. Inadequate methods undermine a study of malaria, deforestation and trade. Nature Communications. 12 (1), 3762
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Kuschnig, Nikolas, Crespo Cuaresma, Jesus, Krisztin, Tamás, Giljum, Stefan. 2021. Spatial spillover effects from agriculture drive deforestation in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Scientific Reports. 11 (21804)
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Luckeneder, Sebastian, Giljum, Stefan, Schaffartzik, Anke, Wegner Maus, Victor, Tost, Michael. 2021. Surge in global metal mining threatens vulnerable ecosystems. Global Environmental Change. 69 102303
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Dorninger, Christian, von Wehrden, Henrik, Krausmann, Fridolin, Bruckner, Martin, Feng, Kuishuang, Hubacek, Klaus, Erb, Karl-Heinz, Abson, David J. 2021. The effect of industrialization and globalization on domestic land-use: A global resource footprint perspective. Global Environmental Change. 69 102311
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Wieland, Hanspeter, Lenzen, Manfred, Geschke, Arne, Fry, Jacob, Wiedenhofer, Dominik, Eisenmenger, Nina, Schenk, Johannes, Giljum, Stefan. 2021. The PIOLab: Building global physical input–output tables in a virtual laboratory. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 1-21.
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| 2020 |
Moran, Daniel, Giljum, Stefan, Kanemoto, Keiichiro, Godar, Javier. 2020. From Satellite to Supply Chain: New Approaches Connect Earth Observation to Economic Decisions. One Earth. 3 5-8.
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Cibulka, Stefan, Giljum, Stefan. 2020. Towards a Comprehensive Framework of the Relationships between Resource Footprints, Quality of Life, and Economic Development. Sustainability. 12 (11), 4734
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| 2019 | Tost, Michael, Murguia, Diego, Hitch, Michael, Lutter, Franz Stephan, Luckeneder, Sebastian, Feiel, Susanne, Moser, Peter. 2019. Ecosystem services costs of metal mining and pressures on biomes. The Extractive Industries and Society. 7 (1), 79-86. | (Details) | |
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Bruckner, Martin, Wood, Richard, Moran, Daniel, Kuschnig, Nikolas, Wieland, Hanspeter, Wegner Maus, Victor, Börner, Jan. 2019. FABIO—The Construction of the Food and Agriculture Biomass Input–Output Model. Environmental Science and Technology. 53 (19), 11302-11312.
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Tian, Xu, Bruckner, Martin, Deng, Yong, Bleischwitz, Raimund. 2019. Trends and driving forces of China’s virtual land consumption and trade. Land Use Policy. 89 104194
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Paper presented at an academic conference or symposium
| 2019 | Kuschnig, Nikolas. 2019. Assessing the impacts of resource extraction on deforestation in the southern Amazon: A spatial econometric approach. ISIE-SEM, Berlin, Deutschland, 13.05-15-05. | (Details) |
Working/discussion paper, preprint
| 2021 | Frey, Verena, Bruckner, Martin. 2021. The global carbon footprint of Austria's consumption of agricultural (food and non-food) products. Ecological Economic Papers, 41/2021. | (Details) | |
| 2019 | Luckeneder, Sebastian, Giljum, Stefan, Krisztin, Tamás. 2019. Do mining activities foster regional development? Evidence from Latin America in a spatial econometric framework. | (Details) | |
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Bruckner, Martin, Wood, Richard, Moran, Daniel, Kuschnig, Nikolas, Wieland, Hanspeter, Wegner Maus, Victor. 2019. FABIO - The Construction of the Food and Agriculture Biomass Input-Output Model.
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