Urgent global action is required to address unsustainable material resource use. This report explores the possibility of, and analyses the implications associated with, developing an international agreement on the management of natural resources.

Why an international agreement?

An international agreement could support

• incentivizing action on a global level
• generate awareness to tackle the issue of resource management
• solve the issue of uncoordinated actions at various regional and governance levels.

The report also looks at the extent to which Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), many of them including provisions relevant to developing circular solutions, cover natural resource management and could be leveraged to enhance resource efficiency.