Oslo Rountable on Sustainable Production and Consumption
2.4 - Governments
2.4.2 National Governments
National governments have a range of important responsibilities, including setting the analytical and policy framework for sustainable consumption (including dynamic market conditions), establishing effective incentives, infrastructure and information that enable consumers to take sustainable consumption choices, taking the lead through public procurement policies, and using indicators to measure progress. Further strengthening of public policies could be pursued to:
Governments as Consumers
- - Influence the overall patterns of demand for goods and services through the introduction of environmental strategies for procurement policies, the provision of services and administration.
Improving Understanding and Analysis
- - Launch a roundtable process to generate a shared vision of sustainable consumption, based on the active participation of different segments of society.
- - Review research and technology development programmes to ensure consistency with sustainable consumption goals.
- - Integrate the value of natural resources and environmental factors into the system of national accounts.
- - Undertake research and analysis to identify where demand-side measures could be most effective in changing consumption and production patterns.
- - Study the relationships between demographic dynamics and changing patterns of consumption and production (eg ageing population, household sizes).
- - Clarify the relationship between non-sustainable production and consumption on one hand and demographic dynamics, regulations, standards and economic incentives in addition to ownership and control over natural resources on the other hand.
- - Establish broad-based working groups to set targets for end-use life cycle performance of selected goods and services.
- - Support citizens`organisations involved in the promotion of sustainable production and consumption.
Applying Tools for Modifying Behaviour: Regulatory Measures
- - Develop comprehensive product policies, including through the broadening of producer responsibility targets for re-use, recycling, durability and resource efficiency.
- - Introduce voluntary agreements with industry sectors on key issues of sustainable production and consumption, and monitor these by peer boards.
- - Explore the feasibility of introducing or extending`right to know` provisions to cover the life cycle environmental impacts of products.
- - Explore the scope for using competition policies to stimulate greater choice in environmentally superior goods and services.
- - Develop strategies for developing sustainable building and construction practices.
- - Review existing regulations and standards which may provide obstacles to sustainable consumption.
- - Encourage the development of markets for second-hand products.
DOCUMENT WINDOW - THE CLOSED SUBSTANCE CYCLE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT
Applying Tools for Modifying Behaviour: Economic Incentives
- - Reform fiscal and pricing policies to internalise environmental costs so that effective incentives are given for sustainable consumption and production, while introducing effective mitigating measures to protect poorer sections of society.
- - Shift the tax burden from labour to the use of resources and damage to the environment to prompt greater efficiency, reduce pollution, strengthen the market for cleaner technologies and create new jobs.
- - Remove subsidies that generate unsustainable patterns of consumption and production (eg transport, energy and agriculture).
- - Review capital investment programmes, particularly for urban development, transport and energy infrastructure, through the application of strategic environmental assessment on plans, policies and programmes.
- - Study ways in which consumer and producer liability norms can be strengthened to give incentives for more sustainable production and consumption.
DOCUMENT WINDOW - LESSONS FROM THE USE OF ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS
Applying Tools for Modifying Behaviour: Social Instruments
- - Stimulate the development of a code of conduct to control the use of environmental claims in advertising.
- - Develop public education campaigns to raise public awareness on the environmental impacts of lifestyles, the options for improvement and the benefits of more sustainable consumption (e.g. the need to curb traffic growth).
- - Endorse and publicise successful social innovations to promote sustainable consumption.
- - Provide information and advice on the environmental impacts of household budgets and spending patterns required to support a sustainable lifestyle.
- - Ensure the transparency, access and credibility of eco-label programmes, prevent discrimination against foreign producers and explore possibilities for mutual recognition.
- - Develop eco-label programmes to promote the continuous improvement of product performance.
- - Support the work of consumer organisations in developing environmental testing of products.
Monitoring, Evaluating and Reviewing Performance
- - Develop comparable indicators and methodologies for measuring progress towards sustainable consumption, including the efficiency, effectiveness and impacts of measures taken.
- - Establish systems for regular review of measures taken and progress made, and communicate this to the CSD as part of the annual reporting process.
DOCUMENT WINDOW - THE GOING FOR GREEN INITIATIVE