The power of people-centred action to keep 1.5 alive

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At the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), Consumers International, the membership body for 200+ consumer organisations from around the world, urges governments to ensure that action on consumption is adequately addressed within national climate strategies.

This week, COP29 is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. Leaders gather just days after reports that 2024 is 'virtually certain' to be the hottest year on record. A year in which communities around the world have been devastated by climate-related disasters, which have claimed lives, flattened homes, wrecked possessions, and damaged people's livelihoods.

These scenes take place against an anxious political backdrop, where recent events have put global compacts on climate change at risk, and which threaten to see a leadership vacuum in global climate policy.

And yet, cut through the noise and there is real ambition and desire for change - across borders and political divides. A recent Consumers International report published together with GlobeScan surveyed 30,000 consumers across 31 countries, finding that 94% supported a shift to more sustainable lifestyles. Notably, people expect their governments to help enable this shift - 83% said they need support from government to make the transition possible. There is an opportunity for leaders at COP29 to seize this momentum, building climate policies which confront the challenges facing consumers and meet people's rights and needs.

Specifically, this COP is an important moment to drive ahead robust and comprehensive Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, which have to be revised by March 2025. Through NDCs governments have the change to take action on consumption as well as production, to mitigate the environmental impact of unsustainable lifestyles, and build resilience against emerging consumer harms.

The power of people-centred action

In the complex mix of actions needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, the impact of consumer action should not be overlooked. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), demand-side strategies could reduce green house gas emissions by 40-70%. Consumers hold immense purchasing power, and the decisions we make each day - such as how we travel, eat, or power our homes - are critically important to reducing emissions.

However, consumers will only be able to make these changes if they are given adequate support to do so. To see fast and fair change, sustainable lifestyles must be made accessible, affordable, and available for all consumers, and deliver interventions that meet people's rights and needs.

Ahead of COP29, we delivered an open letter to national governments, laying out the key actions needed to empower consumers towards sustainable lifestyles. Recognising that these will vary across national contexts, we call for measures such as investing in infrastructure to make public transport a viable option for consumers, making sustainable food choices more affordable, or subsidising access to energy efficient technologies.

Read the open letter

Enabling sustainable consumption will deliver real improvements to people's lives

Not only will supportive interventions push the needle on consumption action, but when done successfully, will deliver real improvements to people's lives, improving, for example, more reliable access to basic needs such as food and energy.

People will also enjoy enhanced consumer rights: by enabling people-centred action, consumers will benefitfrom a marketplace which prioritises safe, sustainable products, nutritious food, and economic wellbeing.

Sustainable consumption action can also build stable, thriving economies, For example, the Food Systems Economics Commission have highlighted that food systems transformation could add up to US$10 trillion to the global economy each year - and that 70% of this benefit can be attributed to dietary shifts. Meanwhile, the benefits of the energy transition are already being established; per the International Energy Agency, clean energy accounted for around 10% of global DGP growth in 2023. These cost savings will in turn supportsocio-economic growth and allow additionalcapital to help nationsfinancethe transition.

Raising the consumer voice at COP29

Without understanding consumers' rights and needs, transformative action on consumption will not be possible. It is essential that the consumer voice is engaged in international discussions and included in the process of revising and implementing NDCs.

As countries work to update their climate action plans, we will bein Baku, discussing with governmentsand other stakeholders the actions needed to achieve sustainable consumption.Following COP and in the run up to the NDC deadline, we will continue to work with and through our Membersaround the work to lead joint conversations with governments on how to achieve sustainable consumption in nationally relevantcontexts.

To connectwith our team at COP29, contact [email protected]. We are also excited to co-host or contribute to the following discussions, where you can hear more on our message for people-centred action:

'From Field to Plate: Aligning food systems with climate and biodiversity goals'.

Monday 18 November, 18.30-20.00 AZT, Side Event Room 6.

Hosted by Consumers International with partners. More information.

Building a Unified Narrative: International Standards as Catalysts for Climate Action

Tuesday, 19 November, 12:45 - 13:45 AZT, Standards Pavilion, Blue Zone B15

Hosted by International Organization for Standardization (ISO). More information.