Globalization led to an immense increase of international trade and the emergence of complex global value chains. At the same time, global resource use and pressures on the environment are increasing steadily. With these two processes in parallel, the question arises whether trade contributes positively to resource efficiency, or to the contrary is further driving resource use? In this article, the socioeconomic driving forces of increasing global raw material consumption (RMC) are investigated to assess the role of changing trade relations, extended supply chains and increasing consumption. We apply a structural decomposition analysis of changes in RMC from 1990 to 2010, utilizing the Eora multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. We find that changes in international trade patterns significantly contributed to an increase of global RMC. Wealthy developed countries play a major role in driving global RMC growth through changes in their trade structures, as they shifted production processes increasingly to less material-efficient input suppliers. Even the dramatic increase in material consumption in the emerging economies has not diminished the role of industrialized countries as drivers of global RMC growth.

中文翻译：

---

国际贸易推动全球资源利用：1990-2010 年原材料消耗的结构分解分析

全球化导致国际贸易的巨大增长和复杂的全球价值链的出现。与此同时，全球资源利用和环境压力也在稳步增加。在这两个过程并行的情况下，问题出现了，贸易是否对资源效率有积极贡献，或者相反，是否会进一步推动资源利用？在本文中，研究了全球原材料消费（RMC）增加的社会经济驱动力，以评估不断变化的贸易关系、扩展供应链和增加消费的作用。我们利用 Eora 多区域投入产出 (MRIO) 模型对 1990 年至 2010 年 RMC 的变化进行了结构分解分析。我们发现，国际贸易格局的变化显着促进了全球 RMC 的增加。富裕的发达国家通过改变贸易结构在推动全球 RMC 增长方面发挥着重要作用，因为它们越来越多地将生产流程转向材料效率较低的投入供应商。即使是新兴经济体材料消费的急剧增长，也没有削弱工业化国家作为全球 RMC 增长驱动力的作用。