The crisis of unsustainable consumption and production patterns worldwide is fuelling the ongoing triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution. Domestic material consumption and material footprint continue to rise, some one billion meals worth of edible food are wasted every day in homes around the world and stockpiles of e-waste steadily grow. While countries are fulfilling their environmental agreement obligations and embracing comprehensive approaches to address environmental degradation, public funding supporting the production and consumption of fossil fuels has more than tripled since 2015, impeding the transition to net-zero emissions. Each stage of production or manufacturing presents an opportunity to reduce resource and fossil fuel use, foster innovation, conserve energy, cut emissions, and advocate for a circular economy approach.
Target 12.1: From 2019 to 2023, one-third of member states (63 countries) have reported 516 policy instruments related to sustainable consumption and production.
Target 8.4/12.2: From 2015 to 2022, Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) increased by 5.8%, and Material Footprint (MF) rose by 6.8%. Regional disparities between DMC and MF continue to grow, particularly between regions where MF is higher than DMC (Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Europe and Northern America, Northern Africa and Western Asia) and those where MF is lower than DMC (Central and Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania), showing different patterns of material consumption and their corresponding environmental impact.
Target 12.3: In 2022, 19% of global food was wasted, totalling 1.05 billion tonnes, with household waste accounting for 60%. This waste generates significant greenhouse gas emissions, costing over $1 trillion annually, while 783 million people suffer from hunger. Addressing this issue is crucial for halving food waste by 2030, yet only 9 out of 193 countries have included food waste in their Nationally Determined Contributions as of 2022. Meanwhile, the percentage of food lost globally after harvest on farm, transport, storage, wholesale, and processing levels is estimated at 13.2% in 2021.
Target 12.4: Number of parties to international multilateral environmental agreements on hazardous waste, and other chemicals that meet their commitments and obligations in transmitting information as required by each relevant agreement: Minamata Convention on Mercury: Most Parties have met their obligations, with 94% appointing National Focal Points and 95% submitting complete national reports in 2023. Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions: Parties continue to make strides in meeting their obligations and in policy-making to keep pace with rapidly changing global circumstances, such as responding to the growing challenges created by contemporary waste streams such as plastic waste and e-waste, improving the procedure to control transboundary movements of wastes, and enlarging their scope with the listing of new chemical. Montreal Protocol: Parties consistently fulfil reporting obligations on the production and use of ozone-depleting substances, with 156 out of 198 ratifying the Kigali Amendment by January 2024, demonstrating an increased commitment to mitigating climate change under the Protocol.
Targets 12.4 and 12.5: In 2022, e-waste generation rose to 7.8 kg per capita from 6.2 kg per capita in 2015, but only 1.7 kg per capita was properly managed. Mismanaged e-waste leads to resource loss, increased use of virgin resources, and environmental hazards, underscoring the urgency for improved and environmentally sound management.
Target 12.6: In 2021-2022, 73% of companies included in the sample published sustainability reports, with the number of companies tripling since 2016. This growth was observed in all regions in 2022.
Target 12.c: Fossil fuel subsidies hit a record high of $1.53 trillion in 2022, reversing the declining trend observed from 2012 to 2020. The post-COVID energy price surge inflated these subsidies, prompting some governments to introduce new support measures. Consequently, public funding for oil, coal, and gas production and consumption more than doubled from 2021 to 2022 and tripled since 2015, impeding progress towards net-zero transition.
