Sustainable consumption and greenhouse gas mitigation

The international discourses on climate change and sustainable development represent different cultures. The sustainable development process has sought to build agreement among competing discourse coalitions. The climate change process focuses on designing cost-effective measures based on expert analysis.Sustainable consumption presents a challenge to both communities. The challenge has been taken up within the sustainable development process but little progress has been made. High consuming lifestyles seem "locked-in" by the economic, technological and cultural context.Nevertheless, there are several reasons for optimism that sustainable consumption patterns might develop. One is the diversity of current consumption patterns and the growing minority concerned with ethical consumption. Anodier is the growing understanding of innovation processes, developed to address technological change, but applicable to social innovation. A third reason is the growing reflexivity of communities and institutions.Government policies that seek to manage or control consumption, or persuade consumers to change their behaviour, are important but unlikely to be sufficient to bring about sustainable consumption. A complementary strategy would establish partnerships with the public and stakeholders, developing shared visions and approaches, supporting innovation and experimentation, and learning from outcomes. Changes are also needed in policies throughout government, from employment law to trade.