Summary We examine decoupling conditions of domestic extraction of materials, energy use, and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions from gross domestic product (GDP) for two BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries (i.e., China and Russia) and two Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries (Japan and the United States) during 2000–2007, using a pair of decoupling indicators for resource use ( D...

Summary Rapid industrialization and urbanization has been occurring in China since the introduction of the opening‐up policy in 1978. The demands of building and infrastructure construction have increased rapidly, especially in the transportation and housing sectors in China. Large amounts of construction materials have been required in building construction and maintenance of the railway and road systems, especially steel and...

Summary Natural resources provide the basis for our life on Earth. This article presents the accounts of China's direct material input (DMI) during 1998–2008. Using decomposition, we examine factors that have influenced changes in recent resource use in China. China's resource demand in 2011–2015 is projected, based on China's 12th Five‐Year Plan. Finally, effective policies to restrain China's resource demand are discussed wi...

Summary This study estimated paper and paperboard demand, pulpwood demand, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from production of paper and paperboard through 2050 in ten Asian countries. Under scenarios of varying population, gross domestic product (GDP), and per capita paper and paperboard demand, we analyzed the relationship between economic growth and consumption of paper and paperboard. We also evaluated options to reduc...

Summary In 2003, the Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material‐Cycle Society was developed; it established indicators and numerical targets for each of three aspects of material flows in Japan. One of the three indicators is resource productivity: Gross domestic product divided by direct material input (GDP/DMI). This article elucidates factors that have changed recent resource‐use intensity (the inverse of resource p...