Civil society\norganizations (CSOs) recently launched a three-part webinar series on\nsustainable consumption and production, or the Sustainable Development Goals-12\n(SDG-12), of the UN Agenda 2030, a news release from the Council for People\u2019s\nDevelopment and Governance (CPDG) said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The series,\nwhich will discuss the nature, situation and the future of sustainability in\nterms of production and consumption a year after Covid-19 first struck, is\nspearheaded by CPDG, Ibon International, People\u2019s Coalition on Food Sovereignty\n(PCFS) and Climate Change Network for Community-based Initiatives,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dubbed \u201cBeyond\nCovid-19: Promoting People-Powered Sustainable Consumption and Production,\u201d the\nfirst part covered the current state of consumption and production in Asia and\nidentified its root causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Azra Sayeed of\nPCFS explained the unequal power relations and the dominance of multinational\nand transnational corporations in global trade that ingrains unsustainable\nproduction and consumption to poor countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA very small\nminority of people have believed that they can actually hold everybody hostage\nto their desire for profit. It\u2019s not a new system\u2014it\u2019s a class-based paradigm\nlike monarchy and slavery,\u201d she said, citing the capture of developing\ncountries\u2019 markets and resources by very few rich and developed countries\nthrough unequal economic relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to\nSayeed, global economic elites are trying to further policies that maintain\nunsustainable consumption and production processes post-Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[The\npost-Covid-19] policy agenda is dictated by corporations who are responsible\nfor the profit-seeking, blood-seeking paradigm while they control the world\u2019s\nresources,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SDG 12 is among\nthe goals adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, which aims to reduce and\neliminate waste and pollution and ensure sustainable consumption and production\npatterns for curbing the adverse effects of climate change and environmental\ndegradation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However,\ncritical CSOs argue that the goal and its indicators are problematic as it does\nnot acknowledge the systematic barriers that hinder sustainability and deprive\npeople of their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnsustainable\nproduction and consumption are symptoms of systemic, structural barriers that\nrest on the social, cultural, political, and economic make-up of societies,\u201d\nLei Covero of Ibon International said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The groups\nattribute the rise of zoonotic and other types of diseases to unsustainable\neconomic processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hence, they\nargue that the world must not return to \u201cbusiness-as-usual\u201d and instead adopt\ntruly transformational alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe current\nsystem must be replaced by radically transforming the systems of production and\nconsumption that dismantle inequality and take care of the people and the\nplanet,\u201d Covero said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second\nforum to be held on June 29 will cover people-centered, rights-based practices\nfrom countries across Asia, while the third session will tackle ways forward in\ncampaigning and advocacy initiatives, coinciding with the opening of the UN\nHigh-Level Political Forum on July 13, where SDG 12 will be reviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entire\nwebinar series serves as a build-up for the Global People\u2019s Summit on Food\nSystems, a counter-summit led by PCFS and its seventeen allied organizations\nagainst the corporate-controlled United Nations\u2019 Food Systems Summit that the\ngroups denounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recommendations from these sessions will be compiled as advocacy messages to be submitted to the UN High-Level Political Forum and other related advocacy spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n