Policy instruments for sustainable consumption: a comparison of United Kingdom and Australian initiatives

At the 1992 Earth Summit, countries identified sustainable consumption and production (SCP) as a core part of the sustainable development agenda. International negotiations on appropriate policies and programs since then culminated in agreement at the 2012 RIO+20 Conference on a ten-year framework of programs. Despite a collective commitment to SCP at the UN, analysts report only limited national progress to date. In this paper, I set out a framework of policy instruments available to governments to implement an SCP agenda. I then compare progress on national implementation in the United Kingdom (a global leader) and Australia (a global laggard). I conclude that the UK claim to leadership may be overstated because, while it has established a formal SCP program unlike Australia, the policy mix in both countries is quite similar.