Household Consumption and the Environment

About this book

A renewed policy focus on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) can be observed, both at the global level and in Europe. With an aim to provide input for European policy-making, this report analyses the environmental effects of household consumption in Europe. We have identified four consumption categories that form a major part of our total consumption expenditure and for which the environmental effects are either large or increasing rapidly. These are consumption of food and drink; housing; personal travel and mobility; and tourism. The negative environmental effects of our consumption do not only occur in Europe, but also in other regions of the world, mainly as a result of resource extraction, production, processing and transportation of the goods we consume in Europe, and as a result of our personal travel and tourist activities. Attaining more sustainable consumption and production patterns is a common challenge that involves all actors, including public authorities at all levels, business and consumers.

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