Search

Fossil and mineral raw materials cause unintended and detrimental environmental and social impacts via extraction, production and combustion processes. In this study, we analyse how consumer demand in the European Union (EU) drives environmental and social impacts in mining sectors worldwide. We employ multi-regional input-output analysis to quantify positive (i.e., income, female and male employment) and negative (greenhouse gas emissions, accidents at work, and modern slavery) impacts of raw materials. We trace these environmental and social impacts across the EU's trading partners to identify sectoral and regional hotspots of international spillovers embodied in the EU's consumer demand. We estimate that the EU's consumption is associated with significant spillover impacts primarily in Central Asia, Asia Pacific, and Africa. We contextualise these results within a three-pillar framework to highlight the importance of a comprehensive and partnership-based approach to curbing environmental and social spillovers embodied in the EU's consumption of raw materials. Specifically, we highlight three potential practical policy strategies: leveraging EU domestic instruments and regulations, strengthening the Green Deal and SDG diplomacy and financing, and promoting responsible consumption, recycling and innovation. Our results underline the need for further reforms in mining industries and trade policies to reduce adverse social and environmental impacts. [Display omitted] • International spillovers embodied in the EU's demand for minerals are quantified. • Forced labour, accidents at work and emissions in supply chains are linked with mineral demand. • Impacts take place primarily in Central Asia and the Asia Pacific as well as Africa. • Over 90% of forced labour cases happen abroad for satisfying EU's demand for minerals. • Study calls for reforms in mining and trade policies for mitigating adverse social and environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires world countries to account for actions that inadvertently generate negative impacts on other countries. These actions/effects are called 'spillovers', and can hinder a country's SDG progress. In this work, we analyse negative social spillover effects, focussing specifically on the occupational health and safety aspects of workers in textile supply chains. We select two indicators: fatal accidents and non-fatal accidents that take place in global supply chains for satisfying consumption of textile products (such as clothing, leather products) by European Union (EU) countries. Specifically, we scan global supply chains originating in countries outside of EU for meeting the demands of its citizens. To this end, we employ a well-established technique of multi-regional input-output analysis, featuring information on 15,000 sectors for 189 countries, to scan international supply chain routes that are linked to consumption of textile products by EU countries. Our findings suggest that Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Belgium and Portugal are collectively responsible for about 80% of both fatal- and non-fatal accidents that are attributed to the EU's consumption-based footprint. These findings not only call for a need for coherent SDG policies that consider spillover effects, but also the need for these effects to be included in EU's strategic instruments and policy-related tools. • Spillovers can hinder a country's progress towards the UN SDGs. • Substantial international spillover effects are embodied in the EU's textile supply chains. • Multi-regional input-output analysis can serve to identify hotspots of socio-economic impacts. • Spillover effects need to be included in policy-related strategic instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]