An assessment of UN SDG 12 and its goals, with reference to Indian policies
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UN SDG - What it says about responsible consumption
- Sustainable Development Goals 2030: These 17 goals aim to reconfigure the world economy such that the rampant destruction of natural world comes to an end, and a pattern of recycle and reused gets established. Specifically, the "SDG12" aims at ensuring responsible consumption and production patterns everywhere in the world. India’s progress in regard to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 is yet a work-in-progress.
- What it means: "Sustainable consumption and production" refers to “the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations”.
- For decades, scientists have shown the ways in which humanity is driving the three planetary crises of climate, biodiversity and pollution, all of which are linked to unsustainable production and consumption.
- Changes in consumption and production patterns can help to promote the decoupling of economic growth and human well-being from resource use and environmental impact.
- The COVID-19 pandemic provides a window of opportunity for exploring more inclusive and equitable development models that are underpinned by sustainable consumption and production.
- More on SDG 12: It aims at halving global food waste per capita and ensuring the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources by 2030. It aims at fighting pollution, reducing the overall waste generation, and improving the management of chemicals and toxic wastes. It supports companies’ transition to green infrastructures and practices. It wants to ensure everyone is fully informed of ways to live in harmony with nature and eventually adopts thoughtful habits.
- Where is India on SDG12: While India is home to 18% of the world’s population, it has only 4% of global water resources. The generation of waste and pollutants also poses a challenge. Only 19.9% of India’s urban waste is processed. India is the third highest emitter of carbon-dioxide and is responsible for 6.9% of global emissions. In October 2015, India made a commitment to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 20-25% from its 2005 levels by 2020 and by 33-35% by 2030. On 2 October 2016 India formally ratified the historic Paris Agreement. The National Policy on Biofuels and the National Clean Energy Fund are some of the government’s flagship schemes aimed at achieving sustainable consumption and production, and managing the efficient use of natural resources.
- Lifestyle material footprint - This metric measures the amount of resource consumption resulting from our lifestyles. The average lifestyle material footprint of India according to 2015 statistics is around 8,400 kilogram per capita per year, which when compared to sustainable material footprint of 8,000 kg per capita per year is quite acceptable.
- Food wastage - According to the UNEP 2021 report, about 50 kg of food is wasted per person per year in India. It seems rather impossible to achieve the goal to halve food waste, with only nine years left, without significantly increasing investment. Food wastage reduction can have a significant effect on greenhouse gas emissions, hunger, pollution and money-saving during recessions.
- Waste generation - The population of China and India together constitutes 36% of the global population but generates only 27% of the global municipal waste, but the United States constitutes only 4% of the global population and produces 12% of the waste.
- Plastic waste - Plastic policy index of India is well below the national requirement, according to 2018 statistics, but this gap is much lower compared to China. As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India generates close to 26,000 tonnes of plastic a day and over 10,000 tonnes a day of plastic waste remains uncollected. India’s per capita plastic consumption of less than 11 kg, is nearly a tenth of the United States of America (109 kg).
- Recycling rate - The domestic recycling rate of India was about 30% in 2019 and is expected to improve in the near future. India can achieve self-sufficiency in the next 10 years if National Recycling Policy is implemented properly and scrap care techniques are shifted in the recycling industries.
- Fossil fuel subsidy - In the year 2020, the government spent nearly 0.2% of its GDP on fossil fuels which is slightly higher than in 2019. In 2019, there was a hike in fossil fuel subsidies which was seven times higher than alternative energy subsidies. The renewable energy subsidies rose significantly in 2017 compared to 2014 and total quantified energy subsidies fell by a huge amount. After 2017 there has been a slight upward trend in the total energy subsidy.
- Sustainable tourism - It is tourism that takes full account of current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities. All forms of tourism may strive to be more sustainable. The project of ‘Responsible Tourism’ in Kumarakom (Kerala) takes the help of the local community by linking them to the hospitality industry and sustaining eco-friendly tourism. Himachal Pradesh has introduced a ‘Homestay Scheme’ to draw tourists to rural areas with natural, comfortable and budget-friendly accommodation and food. Among all the states and union territories in India, Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland are top performing till date with respect to SDG 12, according to the NITI Aayog’s SDG dashboard 2020-21.
- Summary: As of December 2020, 40 countries and territories had reported on sustainable public procurement policies and action plans or equivalent legal dispositions aimed at encouraging the procurement of environmentally sound, energy-efficient products and promoting more socially responsible purchasing practices and sustainable supply chains. You can check the latest update on goals achieved so far - https://undocs.org/en/E/2021/58
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain how the 17 goals in the UN SDG list dovetail with the overall goals of climate action. (2) What can an average Indian do to minimise his/her carbon footprint? Explain five action points. (3) What is the scope of the SDG-12, in light of the materialistic lifestyles being led by modern citizens?
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