Week 7
SDG #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
Video
In this 10-minute video made available from the SDG Academy, Jeffrey Sachs looks at the challenges and opportunities of oil, gas, and mining in the context of responsible consumption and production for a sustainable future.
Analysis
In many counties, household consumption has been the main driver of economic growth[1].
Worldwide, consumption and production are the driving force of global economies and heavily rely on the use of the natural resources and the environment and in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet[2]. Economic and social progress over the last century has been accompanied by environmental degradation that is endangering the very systems on which our future development and indeed, our very survival depends2. According to the latest projections, the global population could grow to 8.5 billion in 2030, and 9.7 billion in 2050. The equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles.
To promote responsible consumption and production, economic growth must align with existing resource volatility and shifting consumer preferences for safer, renewable, and more sustainable natural resources and products. Education is one of the most powerful tools for providing individuals with the appropriate skills and competencies to become sustainable consumers1.
The COVID-19 pandemic offers countries an opportunity to build recovery plans that will reverse current trends and change our consumption and production patterns towards a more sustainable future2. Sustainable consumption and production is about doing better with less. It is also about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency, and promoting sustainable lifestyles. Sustainable consumption and production can also contribute substantially to poverty alleviation and the transition towards low-carbon and green economies.
Fast Facts
Water
- Humanity relies on less than 1% of all water on Earth to meet drinking water needs. This is because less than 3% of the world’s water is fresh (potentially drinkable), of which 2.5% is frozen in the Antarctica, Arctic, and glaciers;
- Although water is provided at no cost from nature, the infrastructure needed to extract, clean, and deliver it is expensive;
- More than 1 billion people still do not have access to fresh water;
- Three out of ten people (2.1 billion people, or 29% cent of the global population) were not using a safely managed drinking water service in 2015, whereas 844 million people still lacked even a basic drinking water service;
- Agriculture (including irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture) is the largest water consumer, accounting for 69% of annual water withdrawals globally;
- Water use has been increasing worldwide by about 1% per year since the 1980s;
- Humans are polluting water in rivers and lakes faster than nature can recycle and