Section
Resource Use
The material basis of the economy · updated July 2026
How much the world extracts, wastes and emits — the resource pressures that sit upstream of climate, land and water.
106 Gt
Materials extracted/yr
2.3 Gt
Waste generated/yr
38 Gt
Fossil CO₂ (2025)
~170 Gt
1.5°C budget left
What this section covers
Resource Use tracks the throughput of the economy: raw-material extraction, waste and plastics, and the carbon budget that limits how much more we can emit.
These indicators tie the others together — most environmental pressures begin with how much we take from the Earth.