Consumer Movement

Interesting report out recently from the University of Manchester, arriving at a conclusion that should have seemed common sense to everyone: consumers matter in the fight against global climate change. While the environmental movement seems to have a strong bias against consumer culture, it will have to make peace with at least one truth of our modern global economy: people consume things. The environmental sustainability movement can either get on board with this truth or it might die trying to stand in front of a moving train.

Refreshingly, this report and its lead researcher, Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, appear to have taken an approach that will benefit both consumers and the environment. Perhaps the most important of all of the report's recommendations is the recommendation that consumers be given more power to choose low-carbon products. Since opinion polls, even those taken during this most recent economic downturn, show that people want to buy environmentally friendly products. Harnessing the power of the consumer will certainly be a key to the advance towards sustainability.