Achieving Sustainable Consumption for Sustainable Development: Issues and Solutions by

“The major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, particularly in the industrialized countries. Developing countries must take the lead in achieving sustainable consumption".- United Nations Agenda 21. Promoting sustainable consumption and production are important aspects of sustainable development. Agenda 21, endorsed by the United Nations Conference on Economic Development (UNCED) in 1992, identified unsustainable consumption and production patterns, particularly in industrialised countries, as the major cause behind the continued deterioration of the global environment. Agenda 21 stresses that changes in consumption and production patterns are necessary to ensure more sustainable development. It calls on industrialised countries to take the lead in achieving sustainable consumption patterns and demonstrate that resource-efficient, low-pollution lifestyles are feasible. The World Summit on Sustainable Developmen