The NGOs of the Caucus on Sustainable Production and Consumption appreciate this opportunity to offer some observations and comments on current efforts by governments here at CSD to promote sustainable production and consumption and on the global social and economic context in which these efforts are made.
First of all, we believe that national policy frameworks on sustainable production and consumption are essential to effectively address the underlying causes of unsustainable production and consumption. We look forward to congratulating the governments at CSD in adopting the newly revised Consumer Protection Guidelines. This is a major step towards the creation of integrated national frameworks on sustainable production and consumption.
We all recognise that sustainable production and consumption is an over-arching principle that underlies all the sectoral issues facing CSD. Ultimately, the goal of sustainable development is to achieve ecological balance and social justice within the limits of finite natural resources and the capacities of the environments and cultures of different societies. Therefore, it is important to also recognize that achieving sustainable production and consumption is interdependent with major changes needed in global trade, finance and investment practices. These changes have to be agreed and implemented at the international level, and this in a genuine North – South partnership.
The achievement of sustainable production and consumption is bound up with the issue of globalisation and its impacts on ecological sustainability, health, social equity and social justice.
During the five year review of Agenda 21, many governments expressed concern about these impacts. Last year, there was a sense of urgency at the CSD, in part a response to increasing global economic instability and the collapse of some national economies. At this year’s Intersessional, delegates acknowledged the links between investment, finance, mass media, advertising and marketing, wealth and overconsumption. In order to adequately understand and address these links, an action-oriented policy framework is essential.
We take this opportunity to recommend the following actions:
1. Adopt and implement the revised Consumer Guidelines
The revised Consumer Guidelines can
be an effective tool for promoting sustainable production and consumption and
to aid governments in developing national policy frameworks for implementing
needed change. We urge you to recommend them to ECOSOC as a practical measure
and also as a demonstration of political will and commitment.
However, simply adopting the Guidelines is not enough. Governments, in partnership with
stakeholders, must demonstrate both will and ability to introduce effective
mechanisms to change unsustainable patterns. This adoption of the Guidelines
should be seen not as the end of a process but a beginning. All governments need to develop a set of
effective policy mechanisms to address the underlying causes and ongoing
reinforcement of unsustainable production and consumption patterns.
We welcome the initiative of the Nordic countries in their work on Faktor 4+10, and particularly the sectoral approach which it adopts and is an example of the kind of innovative policy which the CSD should encourage. Although more attention has been given in recent years to the need for such changes and for such policy mechanisms, the trends continue to worsen. Despite ecoefficiency improvements, natural resources continue to be depleted and pollution continues to grow. Sustainability cannot be achieved through mechanisms relying primarily on market forces; political leadership and informed citizenship is required.
2. Study the impacts of advertising and mass
media
We acknowledge the concern raised by
the G77 and others on the impacts of media and advertising on consumption and
production patterns. Current media and
advertising are major drivers of unsustainable consumption, particularly when
directed at youth in promoting unsustainable values and behavior. Indicators for measuring these impacts need
to be identified and used. We urge the
CSD to request a report on these impacts from the Secretary General, for the 8th
Session next year, which should propose appropriate guidelines and other
mechanisms for change. Many studies have already been carried out which could
form the basis for this work.
The impacts of media and advertising is a crucial issue, given less emphasis than is desirable in the proposed Consumer Guidelines. It bears on a wide range of problems, from the general promotion of irrational and excessive consumption to specific issues - such as the spread of tobacco advertising in the developing world in response to its restriction elsewhere (e.g., the new ban on billboard advertising in the US). Furthermore, instead of contributing to sustainable consumption and production, current media and advertising investments contribute to an increasing ecological debt for current and future generations.
3.
Address the role of
trade and economic liberalisation in unsustainable production and consumption
The CSD has acknowledged that unsustainable production and consumption includes a range of ecological and social problems, caused by globalisation and economic liberalisation. Of particular concern is the extent to which unsustainable production and consumption, in the context of an inequitable global economic system, contributes to the ecological debt owed to developing countries while deepening the external debt crisis. All delegates to this meeting should accept an obligation to ensure that their governments are aware of, and take full account of the links between trade, investment and sustainable development as they engage in policy discussion and negotiations in other fora.
Some immediate concerns include:
·
The promotion of a new ‘millenium round’ of trade
liberalisation negotiations by the WTO. Many civil society organisations
believe that this should not be considered until there has been a comprehensive
assessment of the impact of existing agreements on poverty, environmental
degradation, health, consumer protection, labour rights and other social issues
·
Securing biosafety. The breakdown of negotiations was
primarily due to the trading interests of a few large corporations and their
home governments over-riding environmental and human health concerns. There is
an urgent risk of another cycle of unsustainable production and harmful
consumption emerging from failure to recognise and agree important principles
such as the precautionary principle, prior informed consent and the public
right to know and choose. We urge
governments commited to biosafety to work towards a strong protocol when
negotiations resume.
Conclusion
It is essential for governments to develop and implement integrated national policy frameworks to promote sustainable production and consumption, with the industrialised countries – especially the United States – showing increasing leadership. We NGOs agree to also do our part in achieving sustainable production and consumption, working to inform and educate ourselves as consumers and as responsible citizens, but also to monitor and report on our countries’ progress towards these ends. The NGO SPAC Watch initiative, coming out of the recent NGO Conference in Soesterberg, is our immediate contribution to the partnership between NGOs and government in achieving the kind of production and consumption patterns needed for a sustainable world.