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Monitoring The UN > The UN and Sustainable Development Consumption PatternsUntil now, unsustainable patterns of consumption have largely been the domain of the industrialized countries of the North, who continue to consume a vastly disproportionate share of the world's natural wealth and to produce an equally disproportionate share of global pollution. However, the dynamics are changing, and with the countries of the South eager to industrialize and develop themselves, there is considerable concern that new models be found for development that do not imitate the consumption patterns characteristic of the North in the past four or five decades. The universalization of those patterns would spell disaster.1 Unsustainable consumption patterns are those that are wasteful of natural resources and rely upon production processes that do not take sufficient account of their environmental impact, either in resource inputs or waste outputs. These patterns are based on consumer and producer behaviour that results in environmental degradation like air and water pollution, deforestation or the running down of non-renewable resources. They are also patterns that are only possible because of present inequities in the international trading system that allow the populations of the affluent countries to consume the resources of poor countries that are dependent on the wholesale exploitation of their natural resources to earn foreign exchange.2 These scenarios are not sustainable and it has become clear that attitudes and behaviours have to change. At the same time, the developing countries, if they are to develop, are going to consume increased amounts of energy and resources. In order to avoid the rapacious assault on the natural world that accompanied growth in the North, they are going to require the cooperation and good will of the affluent countries. The international trading system will need to display an awareness of policies that might handicap the poorer countries, policies like protectionism or, albeit well-intentioned, discouragement of the purchase of products deemed insufficiently "green" according to Northern standards.3 In addition, environmentally sound technologies must be made available to developing countries in the interest of more efficient and less polluting production. For all countries, though, it will not be enough to rely upon technology. Demand must also receive attention. The markets must encourage environmentally responsible production processes.4 What is the United Nations Doing to Meet the Challenge? Agenda 21, the programme of action of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) makes the connection between unsustainable consumption patterns and environmental degradation and calls upon states to formulate strategies for their correction. In this the industrialized countries are to take the lead.5 The broad objectives set out are:
This Agenda 21 call to action conceptually links unsustainable economic activity with broader targets of development. "Changing consumption patterns," it is noted, "will require a multipronged strategy focusing on demand, meeting the basic needs of the poor, and reducing wastage and the use of finite resources in the production process." Attitudes and practices are to be influenced and altered from the household to the governmental level. The objective is not a radical reduction in the living standards of those who have, thus far, had it so good, but rather a shift in consumer behaviour and the provision of incentives to alternative, less environmentally irresponsible use of resources. Worldwide there are to be "new concepts of wealth and prosperity which allow higher standards of living through changed lifestyles that] are less dependent on the Earth’s finite resources and more in harmony with the Earth’s carrying capacity." Governments are to encourage the efficient use of energy resources, including "new and renewable sources of energy" and the continued development and use of environmentally sound technologies. Developing countries are to be assisted in obtaining and implementing these same technologies as they undertake their development efforts. Above all, there is to be an international cooperative effort.7 At the societal level, there is to be a promotion of waste reduction, recycling, and environmentally friendly products and packaging. Governments are to look at their own policies and practices. Most importantly, the environmental costs of our living standards are to be internalized, meaning that the real costs in terms of resource use and waste are to be reflected in our economic calculations. Non-renewable resources, like minerals and fossil fuels are to be husbanded in the interests of conservation. In sum, and as the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development urged, there must be "a change in the content of growth, to make it less material- and energy-intensive and more equitable in its impact."8 Acting on the objectives set out by Agenda 21, the United Nations monitors global consumption and production patterns, identifies trends and engages in the study of relationships between consumption patterns and environmental deterioration. It also encourages Member State governments to work toward a wiser use of energy and resources, the adoption of environmentally sound technologies, the promotion of improved waste management, the steering of consumer demand, and the undertaking of environmental impact assessments of their national production patterns. Oversight capacity for United Nations efforts in the area of consumption patterns is contained in the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). Progress is reviewed by the Commission at annual meetings. At its third session, in 1995, the CSD adopted an International Work Programme on Changing Consumption and Production Patterns which has monitoring and guideline objectives.9 For information on the Commission for Sustainable Development contained on this site. Go to the United Nations Sustainable Development site. Click on "Consumption and Production." This will give related links, including technology and industry pages and the IISD site. The latter is a valuable source of information in this area and includes a number of good definitions of what unsustainable consumption and production patterns are in the Instruments of Change section. The Environment Canada site contains various documents of interest. Search under sustainable consumption. 1
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development,
Towards Sustainable Consumption Patterns: A Progress
Report on Member Country Initiatives, 1997, 41. |
