Build on the Positive Trends - next steps in the global effort for sustainable production and consumption
Summary
At the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, 1992, the nations of the world pointed to an unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, especially in industrialised countries, as the major cause of global environmental problems. 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.
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. |
| Private firms have become partners. |
| Investors have begun to take on responsibility for promoting sustainable development. |
Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before the transition has been accomplished. Despite encouraging results in various fields, the increase in production and consumption has, in the aggregate, stepped up the pressure on the environment.
Against this background, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002 the world’s nations decided to accelerate the shift towards sustainable production and consumption, and to involve all countries, relevant international institutions, the private sector and other actors in this endeavour. The summiteers resolved to focus more on international cooperation, for instance by drawing up a ten-year framework for programmes addressing this area.
The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) should, as soon as possible, lay down the overall objectives for the next ten years of work. The ambition ought to be to accomplish the following goals, which obviously need to be fleshed out as part of the work ahead to establish the ten-year framework.
| The world should be on a course towards meeting, or meeting in excess, the relevant development goals of the Millennium Declaration. |
| The rich countries should be able to present an array of examples of sectors in which it has been possible, over some years, not just to maintain the decoupling of environmental degradation and economic growth, but also to reduce markedly the stress on the environment. |
| An effective system should be in place to ensure the transfer of environmental technologies from industrialised to developing countries. |
| It should be standard practice to build decisions upon a holistic assessment of the effects, whenever choosing the means to an end. Environmental outcomes must be seen from a life-cycle perspective, and social impacts from a global perspective, i.e. the outlook cannot be confined to the national sphere. |
| A binding set of global rules for the social responsibilities of corporations must be developed and implemented, including provisions for damage liability. |
| An effective system should be in place to prevent extensive environmental problems from arising with the launch of new products or methods of production. |
All countries and a series of international organisations, such as the EU, OECD, UNEP, UNESCO, World Bank and WTO, alongside other actors, should set out immediately to develop detailed programmes for their contributions. Thereafter, the CSD should lay down the objectives for the endeavour in the medium term.
However, it is important -in the here and now- to build upon the momentum created through the work of the past ten years. International organisations can and should accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production.
This paper presents 13 proposals for initiatives, which can be implemented in a short term. The 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.
The proposals in the green box are:
- Reassessment of privatisation in the water sector (World Bank and others)
- Flexible rules for developing countries to enable the promotion of self-sufficiency in food (WTO)
- Realisation of the EU’s partnership initiatives on water and energy through additional funding (EU)
The proposals in the amber box are:
- World commissions on the production of raw materials (UNEP and World Bank)
- Sector-specific objectives for sustainable production and consumption (OECD)
- Experiments with international environmental taxes – tax on aviation fuel (OECD)
- Stronger implementation of guidelines for multinational companies (OECD)
- Development of technology-transfer programmes (EU, WTO)
- Global initiative for training of product designers (UNESCO)
- Impact assessment of future technologies (OECD and UNEP)
The proposals in the red box are:
- Global information system on nationally-banned goods (UNEP, WTO)
- Global effort against illegal logging (EU and others)
- International hearings on harmful products or technologies (CSD)