Build on the Positive Trends - next steps in the global effort for sustainable production and consumption
1 From Rio to Johannesburg
The decisions on sustainable production and consumption at the World Summit in Johannesburg 2002 must be seen in the light of experiences gained since the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro 1992.
In Rio, the nations of the world resolved to give priority to the effort for sustainable production and consumption.1 An unsustainable pattern of production and consumption was identified as the major cause of global environmental problems:
"While poverty results in certain kinds of environmental stress, the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production , particularly in industrialized countries, which is a matter of grave concern, aggravating poverty and imbalances.2
In Rio, it was decided that the effort in favour of sustainable production and consumption should be advanced in particular by developing national policies and strategies in the industrialised countries.3
Rich-country governments have attempted to live up to this decision to varying degrees, though a series of concrete initiatives have been taken in all countries. And thanks to significant contributions from governmental as well as non-governmental actors- significant results have been achieved throughout the past decade.
 | The political consumer has manifested himself as a force to be reckoned with. Many consumers are willing to take account of environmental concerns in their shopping, and in a number of specific cases, consumers have reacted jointly in order to promote more sustainable patterns of production. |
| Private firms have become partners. Whereas the business community used to express itself mostly as an opponent of environmental regulations, many companies have begun to work seriously on reducing their own stress on the environment, just as a great deal of firms have made a determined bid to develop new products and services that are less harmful to the environment than those marketed before. |
| Investors have begun to take on responsibility. In recent years, some major investors have been addressing the long-term need to promote sustainable development in connection with the allocation of their investments. |
Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before the transition to sustainable patterns of production and consumption has been accomplished, in view of the following points:
Only a few industrialised countries have drawn up detailed strategies for the effort in favour of sustainable production and consumption.
| Only a small minority of consumers, including public and private buyers, frequently take environmental considerations on the occasion of their purchases or in the use and disposal of products. |
| Only a small minority of companies have a long-term plan for their contribution to the environment. |
| Only a fraction of investors let sustainable development enter substantially into the equation. |
Nor is research and development, whether private or public, particularly geared towards devising less environmentally harmful products.
More generally, the result of the effort can be characterised as summed up by the ministers of industrialised countries in the UNECE region in 2001:
"The movement towards less resource intensive and polluting industries, a growth in service sectors, and progress in eco-efficiency and cleaner production processes has resulted in less pollution and waste per unit of product produced and consumed in developed countries. However, in the region, total increases in production and consumption and growing road and air transport have resulted in increased environmental impacts and continued pressures on natural resources and eco-systems.4
The recognition that initiatives have so far been insufficient is also reflected in the resolutions on sustainable production and consumption at the World Summit in Johannesburg. As the Plan of Implementation has it:
"Fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving sustainable development". 5
Governments at the summit agreed that all countries, the relevant international institutions, the private sector and other actors should play an active role in changing the patterns of production and consumption.6
However, in contrast to Rio, the summiteers in Johannesburg set significant store by the international effort in this field. It was thus decided to develop a ten-year framework for programmes in support of regional and national initiatives aimed at accelerating the shift towards sustainable production and consumption.7
Below is an outline of general ideas on what should be the overall objectives for the next ten years of work at the global level, and on the appropriate institutional set-up. Moreover, the paper singles out a number of specific initiatives, which the international community ought to take in the short term in order to build upon the experiences and the momentum created over the past ten years.
The suggested initiatives are divided into three categories. The green box consists of proposals aimed at promoting particular types of consumption. The proposals in the amber box set out to convert production and consumption from less to more sustainable. While those in the red box seek to phase out certain types of production and consumption altogether.