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"Richer, fatter, and not much happier"
Published 12 January 2004, updated 14 December 2012
Rising consumption patterns are unsustainable and damaging to both poor and rich countries, says the yearly report by the Worldwatch Institute.
Background:
In its yearly "State of the world" report, the Worldwatch
Institute says humanity is slowly consuming its way to oblivion as
goods accumulation becomes "an end in its own right". Although
consumption has helped us to meet our basic needs and has created
jobs, the report points out that it is undermining the environment
we all depend on.
The message conveyed by the Worldwatch Institute report echoes that of the Commission during Green Week in June 2003 (see
EurActiv, 30 May 2003). It said changing consumption behaviours was key to meeting the EU's commitments made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to move towards more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Green week was closely followed by the adoption of a Commission Communication that opted for a voluntary approach (as opposed to a mandatory one) to greener product life-cycle management by producers (see EurActiv, 19 June 2003).
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