89. According to an OECD working paper from 2010, the size of the global middle class could increase from 1.8 billion to 3.2 billion by 2020 and to 4.9 billion by 2030. The global middle class is defined as all those living in households with daily per capita incomes of between US$ 10 and US$ 100 in purchasing power parity terms.

90.    While this shift is in many ways a development success story, the conjunction of a growing “global middle class” with unsustainable patterns of consumption threatens to push us inexorably towards the limits of natural resources and planetary life support systems — from food, water and energy resources to global systems such as the oceans, the climate and the nitrogen cycle. Without major changes, the planet’s capacity to support and sustain us will continue to degrade, with the potential for sudden shifts as key thresholds and tipping points are passed, and as social pressures for fairness increase.

91.    But opportunities exist to address this unsustainable situation and increase the efficiency and fairness of resource distribution and use so that planetary health can be maintained even with an increasing population and increasing levels of global prosperity.

92.    While government policies and technological innovation both have major roles to play in helping move the world towards a sustainable pathway, the choices that people make are also crucial and depend on broad considerations, such as political perspectives, habits and ethical values. For example, providing access to mass transit and automobiles powered by renewable energy sources is only half the battle; individuals also need to value and choose mass transit in order for society to reap its full benefits. Similarly, the global discourse is promoted through such initiatives as the Earth Charter, which fosters awareness and shared responsibility for future generations, global sustainability and cross-cultural dialogue.

93.    For this reason, it is important to make sustainable choices available, affordable and attractive to consumers. End-users have to be consulted during design and urban planning, for example, if they are expected to use a new technology or adopt different, more sustainable behaviours. Product standards for sustainability are important tools that can be instrumental in influencing people’s choices.

94.    Equally important is understanding the interlinkages between our environment, economy and society, and the consequences of choices. It is thus critical to integrate sustainable development issues into education curricula.

95. Access to information through reliable labelling is critical for making educated, sustainable choices. Labels based on technically valid and accurately measured standards — especially in areas of high impact on human and planetary health — can help consumers to understand the full cost of their choices and nudge the market to reward sustainable producers. Cost-effective monitoring, verification and assessment mechanisms, as well as open, transparent, balanced and science- based procedures for developing these mechanisms, are therefore essential to assure accuracy, as well as prevent the misuse of eco-labelling as a barrier to trade.

Recommendation 11
96. Governments and other public authorities should promote open, transparent, balanced and science-based processes for developing labelling schemes and other mechanisms that fully reflect the impact of production and consumption, and work with the private sector to ensure that labelling, corporate reporting and advocacy are accurate, cost-effective and trustworthy so as to enable consumers to make informed choices, particularly in areas of high impact on human and natural systems, without creating barriers to trade.

Recommendation 12
97. Governments should make sustainable choices more easily available, affordable and attractive to consumers by setting, together with the private sector, sustainable product standards, in accordance with the best available technology and without creating trade barriers, and by applying price incentives and disincentives.

Recommendation 13
98.    Government and non-governmental entities should promote the concept of sustainable development and sustainable consumption, and these should be integrated into curricula of primary and secondary education.

Recommendation 14
99. The Panel welcomes discourse on the ethical dimensions of sustainable development at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012 among all stakeholders, based on relevant experience and instruments, including the Earth Charter, to inform Governments in their efforts to shift to sustainable development.