Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production

Abstract

With the global population projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050, and in view of finite resource availability and resilience of the Earth system, current patterns of global development are not socially or environmentally sustainable. Solutions to address the underlying challenges are urgent and necessary, but to be effective they need to be accompanied by reductions in the total volume of consumption and production of goods and services. This determination is based on three compelling reasons. First, private consumption and its associated production are among the key drivers of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, especially among high-emitting industrialized economies. There is little evidence that decoupling of the economy from GHG emissions is occurring at anywhere near the scale and speed required. Second, investments in more sustainable infrastructure—including renewables—that are needed in coming decades will themselves require extensive amounts of energy, largely from fossil sources. This demand will expend a significant share of the global carbon budget established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and codified in the Paris Agreement. Finally, improving the standard of living of the world’s poor will appropriate another major portion of the available allowance.