ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview and international comparison of global material resource and land use of the European Union. Economic accounts and indicators prevail in the scientific and public perception of resource use. Fluctuating prices of raw materials, takeovers of mining and refining companies, and strategies to optimise profit in the short to medium term dominate the debate. The domestic resource extraction and the resource equivalents of the imports constitute the total material requirement of a regional or national economy. The pattern of global use of material and land-use resources of the EU may not be continued in the long run without severe detrimental impacts on the environment and on society. The risk of unemployment grows with the resource intensity of the job. With regard to the final demand, export is becoming increasingly important, but domestic consumption still requires two-thirds of the total resource requirements.
