A Circular Economy of Metals: Towards a Sustainable Societal Metabolism

Metals can be found all around and they are the foundation of our economy. The use of metals is a key component to economic development. The number of applications for metals in society has increased rapidly over the past 20 years. Apart from mass-use applications like steel for buildings or aluminium for planes, there are more diverse metals that can be used in innovative technology such as indium which is used in LCD screens. In the future, many metals are needed. They will be difficult to find. The demand for metals, especially in developing countries and industrialized nations, is growing rapidly. The demand for metals is growing as a result of increased mining and production. This has a significant impact on the environment.

We will be exploring these consequences, as well as options for moving towards a more sustainable method of producing and using metals. The circular economy is the preservation of metals for as long as possible, without having to extract new ones. This will be our main focus.

The reports from the Global Metals Flows Group, UN Environment's International Resource Panel are the basis of this course. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an important part of the weekly report. These are lofty goals that will help us measure progress toward a sustainable future. The SDGs will be used as a touchstone for the assessment and solution of the metals problem.