Regional Issues in Sustainable Consumption and Production

Can Asia and the Pacific continue its economic growth in the face of soaring prices of natural resources, including oil?

Is sustainable consumption really only about environmental protection, or it is an economically viable necessity to sustain the economic growth needed for poverty reduction in the Asian and Pacific region?

Is sustainable consumption really a western value system or is it actually a deeply rooted ancient Asian culture imbedded in the Asian lifestyle?

Progress has been achieved by countries of the region in improving the eco-efficiency of production by establishing cleaner production centers and introducing a number of cleaner production standards, and some have recently initiated steps to address the issue of eco-efficiency of resource consumption as well.

It is remarkable to observe that a major world economic power like the People’s Republic of China has already taken giant steps to improve the ecological efficiency of its economic growth by pursuing a bold and ambitious Resource Saving Society Initiative. Building a resource-efficient society is the basis of the economic and social development of the country and has been included in the National 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) as an important guiding principle in designing various plans and projects across the country.

Other similar initiatives include 3Rs in Japan, Gross National Happiness in Bhutan, and the Sufficiency Economy of Thailand. Many of these country initiatives draw on traditional Asian views that are similar to sustainable consumption and which are imbedded in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Asian life philosophy which emphasizes the importance of living in harmony with nature.

Sustainable consumption in the face of rapid economic growth is a formidable challenge and therefore the focus of the Second Green Growth Policy Dialogue. Given the unmet needs of considerable portions of the population, particularly in developing countries, economic growth must continue. However, with current rising prices of natural resources, the growth needed to meet basic needs and improve quality of life can not continue without improving the efficiency of resource usage.

Furthermore, taking action now to prevent high consumption levels from becoming entrenched in developing countries will be less costly in the long run. By improving the eco-efficiency of consumption of resources the countries in the Asia and Pacific region could avoid repeating the mistakes of the “Grow first, clean up later” approach and leapfrog to environmentally sustainable economic growth “Green Growth” for the well being of all.

More on current debates read in the papers of the 2nd Green Growth Policy Dialogue please read on: www.unescap.org/esd/environment/mced/tggap/2rpd_bm.asp