Upcoming conference

2026 ISIE Socio-Economic Metabolism conference, July 6-8, Cambridge, UK

We look forward to travelling to the 2026 ISIE Socio-Economic Metabolism conference, to be held in Cambridge, UK (6-8 July)!
Socio-Economic Metabolism (SEM) research approaches major global and local challenges from the perspective of material and energy flows, stocks and processes.
The conference will showcase SEM research whose results have significance for these challenges, and innovations in research methods, tools or concepts which have significance for the field of SEM research itself.

Our group’s contribution will cover new estimates for the circular economy potential of steel, cement, wood, copper, aluminium, and plastics in the different EU countries as well as recent developments of databases and teaching material.

New publication

Material efficiency strategies for passenger vehicles in China’s provinces

Decarbonizing China’s passenger vehicle sector is crucial for carbon neutrality goals. Next to a shift to electric vehicles, a shift to a circular economy of vehicle materials is crucial. Our scenario analysis finds that ambitious material efficiency strategies and lower mobility demand will save 2023–2050 cumulative primary material production by 1055 Mt. Low-carbon energy supply and CE strategies could enable China to meet its 2030 peak targets under high mobility demand and reduce sectoral emissions to 423 Mt by 2050.

New publication

Potential for circular economy in the global building sector – by Stefan Pauliuk and colleagues

Buildings cause 30% of final energy consumption, 18% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and about 65% of material consumption globally. The circular economy strategies, narrow, slow, and close, together with wooden buildings, can reduce material-related emissions. We find that ambitious CE reduces cumulative 2020-2050 primary material demand from 80 to 30 gigatons (Gt) for cement and from 35 to 15 Gt for steel. 2020-2050 cumulative GHG can be reduced by up to 44%, where the highest contribution comes from the narrow CE strategies, i.e., lower floorspace and lightweight buildings. We conclude that very low carbon emissions trajectories are possible only for combinations of supply and demand-side CE.

Policy application of research results

Europe’s new carbon tax on imported goods informed by our research

When importing goods to the EU from regions with no price for CO₂ emissions, a compensation is charged to create a level playing field for domestic producers and importers. But which imported goods should be charged, and by how much? Here, our group has identified a list of manufactured goods with high content of steel and aluminium. After a risk analysis by colleagues from Technopolis, 180 goods from that list were selected for the charge. Our results helped the EU Commission build an effective and fair carbon pricing system.

New publication

An option space approach to wood use

Wood use is crucial for climate-change mitigation, but strategies range from increasing harvest to conserving forests. To reconcile contradictions, we conceptualize an option space that considers both social and ecological thresholds. We couple the material flow model RECC and the forest model CRAFT to quantify the option space for wood use in the global building sector and current forest areas from 2020 to 2050. In 12 of the 16 resulting scenario combinations, supply exceeds demand. Substantially increasing wood intensity in buildings within ecological limits is only feasible in a low floorspace scenario with increasing circularity, emphasizing the need for nuance in claims regarding the sustainability of wood use.