“3rd Bonn Conference on International Development Policy (Global Lifestyles –New Pathways for Development Policy)”

The German State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia in cooperation with the City of Bonn, the German Development Institute (DIE), the Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) and the Association of German Non-Governmental Organizations (VENRO) organized the 3rd Development Policy Conference: “Global Lifestyles – New Pathways for Development Policy”. 

Specifically focusing on sustainable consumption and production patterns, the conference became a platform for fierce debate for the 800 participants, who included representatives from multinational corporations, international organizations and national institutions, as well as politicians and civil society activists. The main questions discussed were: How can the growth trajectory and welfare of countries be protected given the effects of industrial production on climate and environment? What effects do lifestyles and consumption habits in the wealthy industrial and service-based nations have on countries of the Global South? How can consumers be made more sensitive to the relations between consumption behavior and development policy?

Some conference participants argued that current consumption-production relations between the Global North and South were acceptable and that only shift towards more efficient and environmental friendly production patterns was necessary. However, critics of the view pointed out the implications of global inequality and of the marginalization of producers in the South. They strongly advocated for a complete reconsideration of current international production and consumption relations. 

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By Sema Isil Tanriverdi