CI Policy

• Consumers and climate change: a global issue
• Consumer organisations must...
• Businesses must...
• Governments must...

Also read our detailed positions on six policy areas

• CI / BEUC position on climate change and housing
• CI / BEUC position on climate change and food
• CI / BEUC position on climate change and transport
• CI / BEUC posiition on consumer volunatry action on climate change
• CI / BEUC position on emissions trading
• CI / BEUC position on climate change and labelling
• CI flyer for Copenhagen
  
  

Consumers and climate change: a global issue

All consumers affect and are affected by climate change, but the relationship between cause and effect is extremely unbalanced. Consumers in the developing world tend to suffer the effects of climate change most, whilst contributing least to its causes. Such an imbalance cannot go unnoticed when considering what consumers can and should do.

Furthermore, climate change is directly affecting the provision of and access to basic consumer goods and services, such as water, energy, food and transport. While access to these basic needs must be environmentally sustainable, the principle of attaining universal access must not be compromised.  This ‘trade off’ between environment and development is a complex balance and a challenge that informs much of our thinking on the climate change issue. 

United action is required based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.
National consumer organisations, businesses and governments need to work together to provide consumers across the world with the tools they need to minimise their contribution to climate change, without compromising the consumer right to basic services.

To achieve this global aim, solidarity among national consumer organisations is vital. Drawing on the work of the consumer movement’s Seoul Declaration, this Policy Framework for climate change draws together our 220-plus member organisations to promote this common goal.

The Framework maps out how consumer groups can use their hard-earned public trust to help consumers achieve low-carbon living. As importantly, it also sets out demands for businesses and governments to meet consumer rights, and to support, encourage and empower consumers in their desire to reduce their impact on the planet.

Consumer organisations must:

• Help consumers define, understand and act on climate change. There is an  ‘obesity of information’ available on the impact of consumption on the planet. Consumer organisations have a critical role to play in sorting through the speculation, assumption and opinion, and direct consumers to evidence-based facts.
• Align with other consumer organisations and share research. Consumer organisations around the world are working on climate change and sharing the most successful campaigns needs to be a priority. 
• Fight for vulnerable consumers who are directly feeling the impact of climate change. Whether it is a drop in access to essential services or the financial pain of moving to a low-carbon economy, consumer organisations must act as the voice for those consumers on the front line. 
• Educate consumers that consuming differently, and in many cases consuming less, is needed. 
• Motivate, mobilise and empower consumers. Consumers often feel that they alone cannot make a difference. Consumer organisations must use their campaigning power to help consumers realise that, by acting together, they can make a tremendous contribution to the fight against global warming. 
• Put sustainability and energy efficiency at the heart of product testing.  
• Vigorously expose greenwashing and expose environmentally unsound businesses. 
• Push for independent assurance on climate issues so that business and government claims can be trusted. 
• Engage with all stakeholders so that consumers are put at the heart of the solutions.

Businesses must:

• Make sustainable, low-carbon goods and services affordable to consumers, with particular attention given to basic needs such as energy, water, and food. 
• Support and enact universal, independently assured standards for climate change mitigation policies – both in product design and general business practice. 
• Be fully transparent and open about impact – including progress on targets, suppliers and overseas operations.  
• Proactively remove high impact products, making choice editing and choice reduction key to future design and product rollout. 
• Provide consumer information on how to reduce the impact of product use and disposal in a way that is clear, prominent and understandable. 
• Actively support and seek out green suppliers throughout the commodity chain.

Governments must:

• Help consumers make positive change and minimise negative impact at all levels. 
• Fund much needed research into where change in consumer behaviour can make the most difference. 
• Conduct multi-scenario planning, make considered, evidence-based decisions and avoid contradictory policies that cancel out positive consumer action. 
• Ensure climate change action does not impact negatively on development, particularly with regards access to basic good and essential services. 
• Lead by example with low-carbon government procurement. 
• Subsidise and simplify consumer action, particularly in high impact areas like housing, food, and transport. 
• Fast-track the commercialisation of low carbon technologies. 
• Ensure costs of the impact and mitigation of climate change are spread fairly and, where appropriate, according to polluting behaviour. Green consumers should not be discriminated against, nor should those vulnerable to the worst effects of climate change. 
• Ensure undue weight is not given to high-carbon corporate interest through transparent and inclusive policy formulation. 
• Support green technology investment abroad by not encouraging other countries to accept investment from high-carbon corporations. 
• Ensure education about sustainability is embedded within formal and informal curricula. 
• Set legislative frameworks for independent labelling and assurance mechanisms. 
• Encourage convergence towards international standards for energy efficiency and sustainability in product and service design, and delivery.