Wealthy nations should employ sustainable measures in consumption. To achieve this, a Sri Lankan scientist is proposing the drafting of “millennium consumption goals” to urge rich countries to move away from consumption habits that aggravate climate change impacts.
“We now have Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for the poor. We should extend that to the rich and make sure they consume more sustainably,” according to Mohan Munasinghe, an expert on sustainable development and climate change, has told IPS in an interview. “If they can be more sustainable in consumption, it can reduce the environmental burden by a tremendous amount.”
Munasinghe, who is the vice chairman of the Geneva-based Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, noted how the recent flooding in Sri Lanka has destroyed crops, driving vegetable prices up.