Sustainable Consumption: Scope and Applicability of Principles of International Law

The role of sustainable development has been increasingly recognized in international environmental law as a way to reconcile poverty eradication and resource exploitation with environmental protection. By contrast, little attention has been given to the concept of sustainable consumption. When international law mentions sustainable consumption, consumption and production are generally considered together, for instance in Goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals, addressing responsible consumption and production, and in UNEP’s 10-year sustainable ‘consumption and production programme.’ While some research on sustainable consumption has been conducted in sociology and anthropology, the focus in international environmental law has remained on production rather than consumption. This article seeks to open up a discussion on how consumption should be viewed and defined legally, and the role that law could play in promoting sustainable consumption.