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UN Report Calls for Just, Inclusive Global Movement on SCP for Future We Want
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The report identifies a “window of opportunity to learn from the past and accelerate sustainability transitions to build back better,” using SCP as “a driver of post-pandemic recovery”.
It calls for joint action for “the future that we want, and that future generations deserve” by generating a just and inclusive global movement on SCP that would leave no one behind.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) issued a report on the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, updating Member States and stakeholders on progress on the implementation of the 10-Year Framework. The report takes stock of the past ten years of action, highlights lessons learned, and provides recommendations to guide policy actions directed at implementation of the Framework’s extended mandate.
The 10-Year Framework was adopted in 2012 and extended in 2021. It represents a global commitment to accelerate the transition towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) everywhere. The One Planet network implements the Framework by supporting collaborative work of over 850 partners from governments, the UN system, civil society, and the private sector to accelerate the shift to SCP by elevating best practices and lessons learned.
The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), convening under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), considered the 4 May 2022 report (E/2022/56) on 11 July. Noting that global levels of material use continue to increase, Irfan Tariq, 10YFP/One Planet Network Chair, said SCP “can be an enabler of global efforts to build back better,” the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) reports. Tariq noted, however, continuing challenges, including lack of data, capacity, technology, and financial support to developing countries.
The report identifies a “window of opportunity to learn from the past and accelerate sustainability transitions to build back better,” using SCP as “a driver of post-pandemic recovery.” It underscores that in addition to “transform[ing] the way societies produce and consume goods and services,” SCP also contributes to “poverty alleviation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, ecosystem protection and restoration, and the elimination of waste and pollution.” The report highlights linkages between the SCP and sustainability agendas by spotlighting:
- Sustainable consumption and production, implemented through circular economic models, as a driver of poverty alleviation and economic development;
- Sustainable consumption and production as a pathway to achieving the Paris Agreement on climate change;
- How sustainable consumption and production supports biodiversity protection and restoration; and
- Sustainable consumption and production as key for a pollution-free planet and health.
The report flags the lack of data for SCP as a gap requiring “urgent global attention,” and warns that progress in the implementation of SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production) is “insufficient to achieve 2030 targets.”
Recognizing the role of SCP as a “system influencing socioeconomic, climate, biodiversity, pollution and waste outcomes,” the report emphasizes the value of: integrating SCP into global sustainability commitments on biodiversity, climate, pollution, and waste; and going beyond technical fixes to implement systemic interventions. It calls for joint action for “the future that we want, and that future generations deserve” by generating a just and inclusive global movement on SCP that would leave no one behind by:
- Working as one United Nations to bring SCP to the national level;
- Mobilizing and supporting global multi-stakeholder movements for action;
- Using best practices to support behavioral change across sectors; and
- Inspiring action on SCP through enhanced science, monitoring, and reporting.
[Publication: Progress report on the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Note by the Secretary-General] [Executive Summary] [Introduction of the report on the 10YFP on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns at HLPF 2022]