During many decades there has been a firm belief in large parts of the world that economic growth brings an end to poverty and will realize welfare for all humans. This belief has prevailed despite signals that indicate there are limits to growth, as already highlighted in the famous Club of Rome report Limits to Growth 50 years ago and recently in a personal and anxious message received from one of the writers Dennis Meadows in april 2023.

The Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have served as a wakeup call in many areas, but most of all brought the realization that modern societies are very much dependent on resources that are produced all over the world. The obvious first reaction is to implement measures to improve supply chain security (such as the EU Critical Raw Materials act and the US Inflation Reduction Act). Although these measures look like a solution in the short run, they are disastrous for climate change, biodiversity loss and resource availability in the near future. Any attempt to increase and secure the supply for one country, will be at the expense of other nations and obviously leads to additional geopolitical tension.

The Resource Wende promotes a transition from a Winner Takes It All towards a Common Future scenario, to ensure a healthy future for all current and future life on earth. The program looks at scenarios to decrease the materials footprint of high-income countries, allowing low-income countries to grow to an average footprint level over time.