Study reveals ’true’ material cost of development - BBC News
▻http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23931590
The way we measure exports from China at present doesn’t account for all the raw materials that are used in production says the study
Current methods of measuring the full material cost of imported goods are highly inaccurate say researchers.
In a new study, they found that three times as many raw materials are used to process and export traded goods than are used in their manufacture.
The researchers used a new model that looked at metal ores, biomass, fossil fuels and construction materials to produce what they say is a more comprehensive picture of the “material footprint” of 186 countries over a 20 year period.
In 2008, around 70bn tonnes of raw materials were extracted worldwide but just 10bn tonnes were physically traded. Over 40% were used to enable the processing and export of these materials.
“By relying on current indicators, governments are not able to see the true extent of resource consumption,” said Dr Tommy Wiedmann from the University of New South Wales.