Title

"Should sustainable consumption and production be a policy priority for developing countries and if so, what areas should they focus on?"

Document Type

Other contribution to a refereed journal

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

Sustainability is achieved when per capita levels of welfare remain constant or increase over time. With environmental degradation and population growth, per capita levels of welfare might decline over time, especially in developing countries. Developing countries perceive the material wealth and the way of life prevailing in developed countries as a desirable outcome for their own economies. In particular, the excessive consumption of electronic goods (i.e., mobile phones. computers, ipods, etc.) and consumer durables such as prepackaged foods, soft drinks, toiletries, disposable products, cheap good s with a Iifespan of less than 12 months, cultivates a wasteful behaviour rampant in developed countries.

Although meeting basic needs such as food, housing and clothing is important, the luxuries that come with advanced economies appeal to developing countries. Should deveIoping countries follow exactly the same path that developed countries have taken in the past, it might be more difficult to achieve sustainability. Sustainability is a very complex process in which the present consumerism model of higher profits will not survive. In my opinion, developing countries are inherently sustainable. They only need less polluting production processes and more resources to build infrastructures and allow for more recycling.

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