Energy and materials support food production, maintain and expand material stocks (e.g. buildings and roads) and provide services. In this paper, an exergy-based approach is used to provide an integrated perspective on the evolution of societal resource flows and stocks. The scope of this analysis is from resource extraction (primary exergy stage) to end uses such as low temperature heating and illumination (useful exergy stage). From 1900 to 2010, global exergy consumption at the primary stage increased from 115 to 903 EJ/year, of which 88–89% corresponded to energy flows, including food and feed. Useful exergy flows increased from 9 to 148 EJ/year, of which 47%, in 2010, was contained within material goods. Primary to useful efficiency doubled from 8% in 1900 to 16% in 2010. However, this improvement is far from that which is required to achieve climate targets for 2060. The amount of resource flows required per unit of economic activity decreased at both the primary (from 58.5 to 17.0 GJ/$) and useful (from 4.7 to 2.8 GJ/$) exergy stages, indicating relative decoupling. The exergy in stocks went from 91 to 820 EJ. Stock intensity reduced from 46.2 to 15.5 GJ/$-year⁻¹ due to a shift in stock composition rather than dematerialisation in mass terms. Future research needs to identify the relationships between resource flow intensity and stock intensity in order to meet sustainability targets, including those linked to future resource demand. The scope could be expanded to include additional resources such as water and rare earth metals.

能源和材料支持粮食生产，维持和扩大材料库存（例如建筑物和道路）并提供服务。在本文中，基于火用的方法用于提供关于社会资源流动和存量演变的综合观点。该分析的范围是从资源提取（主要火用阶段）到最终用途，例如低温加热和照明（有用火用阶段）。从1900年到2010年，全球初级阶段的火用消耗量从115 EJ /年增加到了903 EJ /年，其中88-89％对应于能源流，包括粮食和饲料。可用火用流量从每年9 EJ增加到148 EJ，其中2010年的47％包含在物质产品中。初级到实用效率从1900年的8％增长到2010年的16％，翻了一番。但是，这种改善远未达到实现2060年气候目标所需要的改善。单位经济活动所需的资源流量在主要区域（从58.5 GJ / $ 1 GJ / $）和有用区域（从4.7 GJ / 2.8 GJ / $）火用阶段，表示相对解耦。股票的火用从91 EJ上升到820 EJ。库存强度从46.2降低至15.5 GJ / $-年^-1是由于库存成分的变化而不是按质量计算的非物质化。未来的研究需要确定资源流动强度和库存强度之间的关系，以实现可持续发展目标，包括与未来资源需求相关的目标。范围可以扩大到包括其他资源，例如水和稀土金属。