Rich states 'must change consumption patterns'

Rich states 'must change consumption patterns'

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Consumer International (CI), fighting for consumers' rights worldwide, warned on Monday that the current consumption patterns of northern hemisphere countries were not sustainable for the earth's future and therefore demanded changes in those patterns.

While introducing a survey report on unsustainable consumption here on Monday, CI President Louise Sylvan said the world needed an improvement and a drastic shift in the consumption paradigm.

"The current unsustainable consumption of northern hemisphere countries, which has become the role-model of the southern hemisphere countries, is not suitable for our future," Sylvan said.

She further underlined that the ignorance of world leaders over consumption patterns had brought greater danger to the earth's sustainability.

Sylvan said that the natural resources of the earth would not be able to meet the demands of a growing proportion of the population aspiring to a similar lifestyle.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) recently issued a report saying that in the past 10 years the world had consumed one-third of the earth's natural resources.

Moreover, WWF revealed that with the currently increasing trend in fossil-fuel consumption, the world's reserves of energy would be depleted within the next 25 years to 30 years.

Sylvan further cited that damaging consumption patterns were not fully appreciated by world leaders, who were supposed to impose stricter regulations on both consumption and production.

Article 4 of Agenda 21, agreed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, clearly stated the importance of changing consumption patterns, but enforcement of the article has been very weak ever since.

The UN also issued a guideline to support Agenda 21 that required consumer protection by the year 2004.

The guideline, however, has yet to be considered as one of the many factors to be taken into account by many countries when developing consumer regulations.

According to the survey by CI in cooperation with the UN Environment Program, 38 percent of 52 government respondents were not aware of the existence of the guideline and 50 percent of the respondents had not yet specifically measured their progress towards sustainable consumption.

UNEP Assistant Executive Director Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel said, during the introduction, that partnerships between government and business on consumption and production patterns were badly needed.

She underlined that the partnerships would create a compromise framework that could accommodate economic interests and sustainable consumption.

There should be expanded use of the guidelines (Article 4 of Agenda 21), not just for government regulations, but also for other related parties, Larderel said.

However, special adviser on the environment to the Brazilian President, Fabio Fieldman, said that the most important thing to change consumption patterns would be the raising of public awareness on effective consumption.

"Governments' lack of ability to deal with the issue has placed consumers in a key position with regard to sustainable consumption," Fieldman said.

He cited that the public should bring more pressure to bear on governments and businesses in changing production and consumption patterns.

"Giving more power to civil societies will be the right measure to achieve meaningful changes in consumption patterns," Fieldman remarked.