Sustainable development and ecological modernisationRio Declaration, recognises that every country has to act to protect the
environment in the interests of guarding the common fate of humanity,
but it also acknowledges that not every country has made the same contri-
bution to the current eco-crisis, and that countries have different capacities
toaddress these problems. Thus a major issue in international environmen-
tal diplomacy is the extent to which the rich North is willing to accept the
political and financial responsibility for addressing global problems such as
climate change and ozone depletion, which were primarily caused by the
industrialisation of the developed world, but where the policy focus is now
increasingly on preventing developing countries from exacerbating these
problems (see Chapter9).
The concept ofsustainable consumptionis an equally contentious equity
issue. The Brundtland Report was rather quiet on the need to change con-
sumption patterns in the North, no doubt because its authors recognised
that the issue was political dynamite. Subsequently, following its inclusion
in Agenda 21, growing interest in sustainable consumption has helped direct
attention onto the disparities between mass consumption in affluent coun-
tries and the billion or more of the poorest people in the South whose
basic consumption needs are not being met (UNDP 1998 ). Sustainable con-
sumption is the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and
bring a better quality of life, while minimising the use of natural resources,
toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life-cycle, so
as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations. According to the 1998
Human Development Report (UNDP 1998 ), consumption must be: (1)shared–
ensuring basic needs for all; (2)strengthening–building human capabilities;
(3)socially responsible–sotheconsumption of some does not compromise
the well-being of others; (4)sustainable–without mortgaging the choices of
future generations.^2
Numerous initiatives have been launched with the twin aims of reduc-
ing the direct impact of Northern consumption on scarce resources and
improving the social and economic lot of the communities who supply those
resources. The UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs, for example,
sponsors over 300 sustainable development partnerships.^3 The ‘fair-trade’
movement, which has grown rapidly in recent years, is dedicated to helping
poor and disadvantaged producers in developing countries by establishing
direct links with consumers in the North and eliminating intermediaries
in the trading chain. A Fairtrade label has been established guarantee-
ing that products meet certain minimum standards regarding the price
paid, workers’ rights, health and safety, and environmental quality.^4 Fair
trade is concerned primarily with equity: the alleviation of poverty through
enabling small producers to compete by ensuring that they receive a fair
and stable price for their products. Indeed, one of the most common defi-
nitions of fair trade asserts that it contributes to sustainable development,
‘byoffering better conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised