Situating consumption in a sustainable economic recovery: Bringing the environment back in

Abstract

It is argued within this article that the marginalisation of climate change as a significant economic challenge within the current downturn has led to highly problematic strategies of economic recovery. This article aims to highlight the role of carbon-intensive and debt-fuelled consumerism in instigating both the financial and environmental degradation of recent times, and discusses the appropriate role of consumption within an economic recovery more sensitive to broader economic challenges. It is argued that when a more holistic understanding of the recent economic and environmental outcomes is adopted, it is clear that recent consumption patterns – which have acted as a central driver of economic growth – has produced deleterious financial and environmental consequences and should now be considered unsustainable. Yet these consumption patterns have been entrenched by the policies undertaken to revive growth. Only alternative models of consumption and growth constitute credible responses to the current crisis.