Ressourcetræk

Ressourcetræk is a Danish term used in environmental economics and resource management to describe the pressure exerted on natural resources by human activity. The concept refers to the rate at which stock is drawn down or depleted, and to the economic and ecological consequences of extraction and consumption. It covers both non-renewable resources such as minerals and fossil fuels and renewable resources when their use exceeds natural regeneration or sustainable yield.

Measuring ressourcetræk involves assessing the volumes of resource extraction per year, depletion rates relative to estimated stocks, and reserve-to-production ratios. It is also common to use indicators such as ecological footprint, material flows, and, in economic analyses, resource rents and price volatility to capture broader effects on sustainability and security.

Applications of the concept include national and regional policy planning, corporate risk assessment, and sustainability reporting. By framing resource use as drawdown, policymakers and businesses can evaluate strategies like improving efficiency, expanding recycling and circular economy practices, diversifying energy and material inputs, and reducing dependency on scarce resources.

Challenges in applying ressourcetræk include data gaps and uncertainties about stock sizes, variations in technological progress, market fluctuations, and the need to account for social and ecological costs. The term is primarily used in Danish-language contexts, and in English discussions it is often conveyed with phrases such as resource draw, resource depletion rate, or depletion pressure, depending on the focus of the analysis.