Land Use Targets: Balancing Consumption with Sustainability

1. Land as a resource – More of the same? Land usetargets MEGHAN O’BRIEN 24 November 2014 FOEE: PuttingResourceefficiency back on theagenda

2. Contents • Why land use targets? • What are the targets? • What are the implications? Based on UNEP (2014). Assessing Global Land Use: Balancing Consumption with Sustainable Supply. A Report of the Working Group on Land and Soils of the International Resource Panel. Bringezu S., Schütz H., Pengue W., O´Brien M., Garcia F., Sims R., Howarth R., Kauppi L., Swilling M., and Herrick J. More information: www.unep.org/resourcepanel/

3. Why land use targets • Two key challenges • How land is used • How much land is used

4. Why land use targets?Impacts of land use change • Habitat change is an important driver of biodiversity loss Main direct drivers of change in biodiversity and ecosystems Source: MEA 2005 Source: MEA (2005)

5. Why land use targets • Two key challenges • How land is used • How much land is used • Take global implications of European consumption into account • EU is import dependent, has disproportionally high consumption levels, and future demands could further increase EU land footprints

6. Why land use targets?Cropland footprints EU cropland footprints EU cropland area, ha /cap 2011 ha / cap 0.28 • Van der Sleen 2009 • Von Witzke & Noleppa 2011 • Bringezu et al. 2011 • Bruckner et al. 2014 • Arto et al. 2012 EU-27, 2005 EU-27, 2007, EU-27, 2007/8 EU-27, 2007 EU-27, 2008 0.24 0.31 0.31 Global cropland footprint, ha / cap 2011 0.34 0.37 0.22

7. Why land use targets • Two key challenges • How land is used • How much land is used • Take global implications of European consumption into account • EU is import dependent, has disproportionally high consumption levels, and future demands could further increase EU land footprints • Impacts abroad are related to global challenges • Policy visions

8. Why land use targets?Policy visions and targets EU BioeconomyStrategy • “The Bioeconomy Strategy and its Action Plan aim to pave the way to a more innovative, resource efficient and competitive society that reconciles food security with the sustainable use of renewable resources for industrial purposes, while ensuring environmental protection.” Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe • “By 2050 the EU's economy has grown in a way that respects resource constraints and planetary boundaries, thus contributing to global economic transformation. Our economy is competitive, inclusive and provides a high standard of living with much lower environmental impacts.” Sustainable Development Goals (Open Working Group Proposal, July 2014) • Goal 12: ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns • Goal 15: protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

9. Why land use targets • Two key challenges • How land is used • How much land is used • Take global implications of European consumption into account • EU is import dependent, has disproportionally high consumption levels, and future demands could further increase EU land footprints • Impacts abroad are related to global challenges • Policy visions  In order to realize the visions, metrics for monitoring and targets for orientation are needed • Land is finite • How much land can be sustainably used for production and consumption?

10. What are the targets • Based on the safe operating space concept • How much more land use change can occur before the risk of irreversible damages becomes unacceptable? • In particular regarding biodiversity loss • Modeling results show that to halt biodiversity loss agricultural land needs to, at least, stabilize from 2020 (Van Vuuren and Faber 2009) Estimateof quantitative evolution of control variables for seven planetary boundaries from pre-industrial level to the present Source: Rockström et al. 2009

11. What are the targets • A cautious global target would be to halt the expansion of global cropland into grasslands, savannahs and forests by 2020 • Implies business-as-usual can “safely” continue until 2020 0.20 ha / person • Reference value: around 1,640 Mha available for supplying demand in 2020 • Target of 0.20 ha of cropland • (1,970 m2) per person in 2030

12. What are the implications? • Reference point for consumption • Raise awareness: 2 degree Celsius climate target is an easy-to-communicate directional guide • Prevent problem shifting between planetary boundaries, e.g. “perverse solutions” to meet climate targets • Provide an orientation and rationale for policy intervention: • Consumer level: address food waste, excessive meat consumption, etc. • National level: opportunities of the circular economy; evoke smart market-pull mechanisms to increase efficiency (cascading use; co-production; use of organic waste) • Drive innovation in the right direction (e.g. encourage co-operation across supply chains; provide context for social innovation; etc.)

13. Balanced bioeconomy Safe Operating Space Consumption levels

14. ManyThanks!meghan.obrien@wupperinst.org