Resource use and resource efficiency in the Asia–Pacific region revisited

This analysis of material use and resource efficiency trends in the Asia Pacific region provides an important update to a study conducted 15 years ago on the same subject. Our findings indicate that some of the concerning trends identified in the earlier study have since moderated, with regional material demand plateauing in recent years. Resource efficiency improvements have continued and even accelerated over the decade to 2020. The impact of these trends is evident in a series of IPAT analyses, which indicate that improvements in the Technology factor used (Materials Intensity) were finally sufficiently strong to enable the region to continue raising living standards without notably increasing materials demand.
As these empirical outcomes were not anticipated in the earlier study, we explore potential explanations for these trends. One consideration is whether the resource efficiency improvements indicated in an IPAT analysis of the most recent data provides support for Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) dynamics, a hypothesis largely dismissed in the previous study. Additionally, we examine whether the unprecedented expansion of productive infrastructure in the region during the early 21st century may now be sufficient to accommodate further infrastructure development in the region’s lower-income countries, thereby reducing the need for continued growth in material throughput.