Abstract
This paper argues that sustainable consumption and production (SCP) should play a prominent role in the formulation and implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and discusses how this could be practically done. Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production have been declared the primary cause of environmental deterioration. This was clearly recognized already at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (or the Rio Summit) in 1992; and this recognition has been reconfirmed in all high-level sustainability meetings since then. SCP aims to change these patterns; it is a policy agenda for addressing the root causes of our ecological predicament, while, at the same time, providing for human wellbeing and prosperity. Drawing from international agreements, practical policy experience and research from a range of disciplines, the paper provides a clarifying framework for scientifically robust, policy-relevant and practical goal-setting for SCP within the SDGs. Special attention is given to how SCP in the SDGs can create synergies with other international policy initiatives. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of two possible options for reflecting SCP in the SDGs framework: (i) SCP as a stand-alone goal; and (ii) SCP as a cross-cutting objective, embedded within relevant goals. While these two options are not necessarily mutually exclusive, given the competing number of issues for prioritization and the fact that a 10-Year Framework of Programs on SCP has also recently been established, it is hardly foreseeable that both options can be realized. The paper further proposes a set of basic principles for SCP at the global level and makes recommendations towards the formulation of indicators supporting SCP objectives in the SDGs.
Highlights
sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and International MandatesIn 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, world leaders acknowledged that ―the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production‖ [1]
The paper discussed the role of SCP in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and how SCP objectives could be effectively reflected in this emerging global policy framework
It argued that SCP, as a policy agenda for addressing the root causes of our ecological predicament, while at the same time providing for human wellbeing and prosperity, needs to be prominently featured in the SDGs
Summary
In 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, world leaders acknowledged that ―the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production‖ [1]. The ten top thematic priorities for national governments were: sustainable energy; food security; water and sanitation; biodiversity protection; desertification/land degradation; sustainable consumption and production; oceans and marine systems; poverty eradication; gender equality; and education [5] This is just one of many lists of possible goals that has been developed; this one is authoritative and indicative of the priorities of governments, the stakeholders that will be leading. Our conclusion from this brief overview is that there seems to be a broad agreement among key stakeholders that SCP should be reflected in the SDGs, perhaps even playing a central role in this global framework How it should be included remains an open question. In the rest of the paper, we discuss two main options for how SCP can be reflected and highlight some critical aspects that negotiators should bear in mind
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