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Responsible Consumption and Production, It is the 12th MDG goal of the UN,…
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- It is the 12th MDG goal of the UN
- Currently, the world has seen many consequences as a result of unsustainable consumption and production habits
- In economics, this is explained by the idea of negative externalities, where negative effects are felt by a third party as people (who assumed are selfish) know that there will be a 3rd party cost involved. Products and services like this in theory are overconsumed by the free market
- Many of these "negative externalities" specifically towards the environment are observed nowadays, such as climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity
- They are important because they directly impact the overall wellbeing of the human
- This symbolizes that even during economic development (a component of the development equation), the overall wellbeing of humans in the long run could possibly be decreasing
- In theory, if there are no measures to counteract upon these unsustainable acts, then humans will continue to do so until there are severe direct consequences which affect their daily lives to large extents
- For example, in Bangladesh, many industries producing waste waters in the process have caused its rivers (like the Buriganga River)
- The jeans industry, supplying for H&M, JC Penny, and Walmart all have companies there
- They have all occured because these factories are deregulated (intentionally) by the government as the government agenda prioritizes economic development because that is what economically poor countries like Bangladesh lack most and believe should be a priority
- The UAE has one of the largest polluting figures seen per capita, and is trying many ways to reduce this
- They started charging 0.25 AED per plastic bag to incentivise people to use reusable bags
- This is an attempt to disincentivise the consumption of plastic bags (and cause a permanent decrease in its production)
- No matter how effective, this at least demonstrates how a country that is relatively thriving economically is trying to impose restrictions that focus on the reduction of negative externalities, and promoting sustainable consumption
- In order to stop this, some form of intervention (external) force must occur as current patterns show that most people are not intrinsically motivated to care for these externalities
- The producers can be taxed for the pollution they produce from their factory
- The consumers can also be taxed if their purchased good/service has a negative impact on the environment
- In extreme cases, governments imposing strict laws might be a better way as for the people who follow the law, the imposed laws are a command and not just simply a disincentive
- The unintended consequence is if most people don't take the law seriously, especially in countries where breaking the law can be easily dealt with money
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Brazil: Currently, 17% of the Amazon forest is already lost. Also, more than 10,000 species of plants and animals in the forest are at risk of extinction. It is
India: Pollution of the Ganges river, with industrial waste, untreated sewage water, and parts of dead animals
- Also, in 2020, governments worldwide spent $375 billion on subsidies and other support for fossil fuels. Before changing anything, it might be most important for governments to take this goal into their own interest first
- Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption are root causes of climate change
- Too much food is wasted in each country daily including food thrown before it reaches groceries
- Reliance on natural resource consumption is increasing. Increased 65% from 2000 to 2019
- Majority of e-waste is not properly treated
