Global Scans · Responsible Consumption and Production · Weekly Summary

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In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

• [New] Global heating will inflict economic losses on the global economy of $38 trillion a year by 2049 as extreme weather ravages agricultural yields, harms labour productivity, and destroys infrastructure. CleanTechnica
• [New] Growth in China is projected to slow from 5.2% in 2023 to 4.6% in 2024 and 4.1% in 2025 as the positive effects of one-off factors - including the postpandemic boost to consumption and fiscal stimulus-ease and weakness in the property sector persists. IMF eLibrary
• [New] The price of energy fell faster than expected from its peak, in part as a result of increased non-OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil production and increased natural gas output, most notably in the United States. IMF eLibrary
• [New] Thomson Reuters will use its GenAI platform to create even more GenAI skills, and they will be introduced into products across every business segment it serves under the CoCounsel brand. Thomson Reuters Corporation
• [New] All UK Emissions Trading System sectors should be covered to minimise the risk of material substitution, as should products where CBAM materials make up a substantial part, to avoid value chain circumvention. EUROMETAL
• [New] The disruption of global supply chains resulted in a decrease in the demand for products related to electronic-grade polysilicon. Virtue Market Research
• [New] Micron in mass production of 232-layer QLC NAND Micron is in mass production of a 232-layer QLC NAND which is shipping in select Crucial SSDs, in volume production to enterprise storage customers and sampling to OEM PC manufacturers in the Micron 2500 NMVe SSD. Electronics Weekly
• [New] Global silver demand is projected to grow to 1.2 billion ounces in 2024, driven by increased industrial consumption, with the sector expected to reach a new annual high. investing.com
• [New] In summary, natural gas consumption in the United States and EU will increase in all sectors in 2024. investing.com
• [New] In an effort to meet its emission goals, the EU plans to invest heavily in hydrogen production by 2050, while the United States has also pledged significant funding for clean hydrogen projects. EITEP Institute
• [New] Gen AI could lift productivity by 3% to 5% across the banking sector, delivering value equal to an additional US$ 200 billion to US$ 340 billion in annual revenues. Fintech Singapore
• [New] A failure to protect domestic production would leave the UK reliant on more expensive and greater-polluting imports, and threaten thousands of jobs, particularly in small communities. Kent Online
• [New] Pork production in Brazil is forecast to grow by 4% to 4.6m t, as producers continue to benefit from lower production costs. Pig World
• [New] Partial recovery is predicted for EU pork production, which is forecast to increase by 2% in 2024 to 21.2 million tons, driven by high piglet and finished pig prices, which incentivised producers to begin rebuilding the sow herd at the end of 2023. Pig World
• [New] Global pork production in 2024 is forecast to fall by 1% to 115.6 million tonnes in 2024, as lower production in China more than offsets production gains in the EU, US and Brazil. Pig World
• [New] There should be no downside risk given the risk of lower production in South America and potential slower planting in the US and Europe. Czapp
• [New] By 2030, mines in production or currently under construction will only meet half of global demand for battery metals like lithium and cobalt. Mining Weekly
• [New] In 2024, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally secure a global, legally binding target to radically reduce plastic production, but it will only deliver the kind of progressive action needed if countries like the UK push for plastic production to be reduced by at least 75% by 2040. Greenpeace UK
• [New] Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic are calling on the UK government and supermarkets to advocate for a legally binding target in the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, and reduce plastic production by at least 75% by 2040. Greenpeace UK
• The expansion of irrigated lands and increased rice productivity, facilitated by Japan-supported irrigation infrastructure, mitigated the risks of harvest failure due to droughts and floods. Taylor & Francis
• OPEC's own 2019 World Oil Outlook (OPEC 2019) expects its production of oil and other petroleum liquids to fall from 35 million barrels per day in 2019, to 32.8 million bbl/day by 2024. SpringerLink
• Wheat production for the current season is expected to reach six million tons, an increase of 800,000 tons from the previous season. ReliefWeb

Last updated: 22 April 2024