
Rich countries are driving resource injustice
Resource justice means transforming the way we use resources so that systems of material extraction, consumption and disposal are fair and sustainable. It is an essential part of addressing the climate crisis and creating a world where everyone can flourish.
Not all countries have the same level of capacity to change, nor have they all driven the problem in the same way in the first place. We have been working with Joy Reyes from Friends of the Earth Philippines to explore how countries in the global north and global south have different levels of power and responsibility when it comes to reducing the impact of our resource consumption.
In our new report Rethinking our Resources, we use Scotland and the Philippines as case studies to understand this issue. We can clearly see that there are different capacities and responsibilities that need to be taken into consideration to achieve fair resource use.
In the Philippines, people are consuming 5 tonnes of materials per person per year, which is below the amount required to meet basic needs. Yet here in Scotland, we are consuming 19 tonnes of materials per person per year, that’s over double the amount that would be sustainable and four times more than the average person in the Philippines.

This situation isn’t good for anyone. Across the world, people and nature are being harmed by the vast and complex supply chains which churn out all these products. Communities are destroyed by destructive mining practices, workers endure unsafe conditions and low wages, and overconsumption is causing environmental crises like climate breakdown and pollution.
In Scotland, people are trapped in a throwaway society. Our wasteful system has left us with a cost-of-living crisis, low quality products, and endless waste our councils are struggling to get rid of. Only big businesses and billionaires are benefiting.
Governments in the global north can reverse the harm being caused through resource injustice by putting wellbeing before economic growth, creating cooperative rather than competitive trade policies, and holding corporations to account for the environmental and human rights harms created in their supply chains.
By embracing the need for change, they can prioritise policies that improve the lives of the majority as well as reducing the impact of our resource consumption on that planet.