A new U.N. report warns that the world could consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and wood-based fuels annually by 2050 – three times its current appetite, as developing countries become wealthier.
The U.N. Environment Program said citizens in richer developed countries consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita. By comparison, it said, the average person in India today consumes four tons per year.
The report, released Thursday, said the world is already running out of cheap and high quality sources of essential materials such as oil, cooper and gold which require ever-rising volumes of fossil fuels and fresh water to produce.
The report calls for an urgent "rethink" of the links between the use of resources and economic prosperity.
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