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

Abstract

As the human–resource–environment nexus is one of the serious issues confronting mankind, it is essential for developing countries to put in place proper sustainable consumption and production policies. These countries should focus on fostering a culture of sustainable consumption, enhancing legislation, reforming taxation and implementing recycling economy patterns. More specifically, as globalization merges consumerism with local traditional cultures, such as has been observed in China in recent years, the sustainable consumption culture should be formed and disseminated by education and training beginning in primary schools all the way through to college. Sustainable products and industries that exploit natural resources in an ecologically efficient manner should receive financial and technological support from public policy. Moreover, tax systems need an overhaul through imposition of ecological taxes that fall heavily on energyintensive products and lightly on clean, sustainable products. Local and central governments should reform economy evaluation systems by introducing Green GDP accounting in public administration. Finally, the sustainable production should include recycling economy patterns that change the material flow from the traditional linear mode of natural resource/product/pollutant, to the new loop of natural resource/industrial product/recycled resource.