title: Resource footprints and their ecosystem consequences.
abstract: A meaningful environmental impact analysis should go beyond the accounting of pressures from resource use and actually assess how resource demand affects ecosystems. The various currently available footprints of nations report the environmental pressures e.g. water use or pollutant emissions, driven by consumption. However, there have been limited attempts to assess the environmental consequences of these pressures. Ultimately, consequences, not pressures, should guide environmental policymaking. The newly released LC-Impact method demonstrates progress on the path to providing this missing link. Here we present "ecosystem impact footprints" in terms of the consequences for biodiversity and assess the differences in impact footprint results from MRIO-based pressure footprints. The new perspective reveals major changes in the relative contribution of nations to global footprints. Wealthy countries have high pressure footprints in lower-income countries but their impact footprints often have their origin in higher-income countries. This shift in perspective provides a different insight on where to focus policy responses to preserve biodiversity.
authors.affiliation: Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Verones
authors.affiliation: Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stadler
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Economics and Law, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kanemoto
authors.affiliation: Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D005843:Geography; D000074382:Greenhouse Gases; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D000074382:Greenhouse Gases; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide