Environmental scientists Johan Andres Velez-Enao and Stefan Pauluk from the University of Freiburg have calculated how much stuff one person needs to keep themselves out of extreme poverty. It would take 6 tonnes of food, fuel, clothing and other materials per year, the researchers reported in an article in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. 

The scientists took as a basis the common definition of a basic standard of living created in 2017. According to this definition, in order to overcome poverty, each person needs to: 

• 15 square metres of living space; 

• a minimum of 2,100 calories a day (for adults); 

• basic household appliances: washing machine, modern cooker, telephone, laptop; 

• a car or other means of transport for travelling to work/selling their goods. 

The researchers calculated the approximate amount of raw materials for each of these facilities and services. They had to divide the needs into two types, as they have different implications from a social point of view. The first type is very large, often one-off investments, such as buying a home. The second type involves ongoing living expenses and maintenance. 

The calculations also showed that a lot of basic infrastructure is needed to eliminate poverty. At a minimum, this includes building all the necessary houses, schools, hospitals and roads, as well as producing construction equipment to carry out technical work and keep the infrastructure intact. In total, about 43 tonnes of materials are needed for each person (currently living below the poverty line), which is 51.6 billion tonnes of raw materials for the whole world. 

In order to enable poor people to maintain their share of these stocks and to meet their daily needs for family, education, work and social participation such as recreation, a separate calculation was required. For food, the total included crops and the fertilisers and pesticides needed for cultivation. The transport needs assessment included different modes of transport: bicycles, cars, buses and trains, as the aim was a worldwide average. 

The scientists added up their calculations and found that 7.2 billion tonnes of raw materials per year – or about 6 tonnes per person per year – would be needed to maintain minimally decent living conditions for the 1.2 billion people currently living in poverty.

Unfortunately, rich countries like the USA or Germany use too many raw materials. Each person living in these countries needs 70 tonnes of raw materials every year to maintain their daily lifestyle – far more than the 8-14 tonnes needed by everyone on the planet to ensure a fair and sustainable standard of living. “This situation shows that reducing inequality is crucial to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” says Narasimha Rao, an expert on energy and poverty at Yale University. 

In addition to narrowing the resulting gap, progress can be made by achieving greater efficiency. For example, lighter vehicles and making things that last longer. And besides, new analysis shows that lifestyle’s changes – halving meat consumption or using public transport – can reduce a person's material footprint by as much as 10 per cent. 

At the same time, the use of public transport can reduce not only the material footprint, but also the environmental footprint. For example, Moscow residents can use eco-friendly electric buses and even year-round electric river trams with a zero-carbon footprint.

Unsplash / Shane Mclendon / Breno Assis