A
Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC)-sponsored study, carried
out by the advocacy group Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS)
India, seeking to analyse the United Nation's Sustainable Development
Goal (SDG) No 12, Responsible Consumption and Production (RCP), has
regretted, it is "very unlikely" India will achieve any of the targets
of SDG 12 by 2030 "unless some serious measures are taken by the
government to reverse the present trend."
Carrying
out the study from the "consumer’s perspective", it seeks to analyse
the current scenario at the national level, including the role of
ecolabels, impact of the pandemic etc., with in-depth study in five
states -- Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Himachal
Pradesh -- through one-to-one interviews, focus group discussions,
qualitative analysis, documentation of successful case studies etc. Titled "Sustainable Consumption and Production: A Consumer Perspective", the study says,
"Recession, loss of job and physical distancing largely affected the
way people produce and consume. Nothing remains the same as prior to the
pandemic, people’s needs and wants changing drastically. There is a
tremendous increase in the use of plastics like never before in
healthcare."
It believes, "Apart from the medical wastes, one could
also witness an increased dependence of consumers on disposables, such
as plastic plates, cups, carry bags, sanitizers and bottled drinking
water as a hygiene measure to avoid Covid-19."
"Also", it adds, "An
increased dependence on online delivery of consumer goods and foods has
resulted in the surge in packaging material usage. However, there is no
ground estimate to show how much plastic wastes have been generated in
India since the corona scare."According to the study, "The country also generated 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste last year, ranking third after China (10.1 million tonnes) and the US (6.9 million tonnes). Following the current growth rate of e-waste, an ASSOCHAM-EY joint report, titled ‘Electronic Waste Management in India’ estimated India to generate 5 million tonnes by 2021." The study
Identifying computer equipment and mobile phones as the principal waste generators in India, the study says, "With Covid-19 keeping people indoors, the usage is only getting higher; and without proper intervention, it is likely to be over 100 million tonnes by 2050. To make matters worse, waste collection and recycling of waste came to a halt during lockdown across the country."
Claiming that before the pandemic, India’s performance in the circular economy was notable, as "it led to the collection and recycling of plastic waste and almost 60-70 percent of it was collected and recycled into other useful products", the study laments, "People now again resort to unsustainable habits of burning household wastes or throwing them on the roadside, creating conditions for the spread of infectious diseases."
The study asserts, "Equally, to maintain physical distance, people are no longer willing to use public transports, instead, self-driven individual vehicles are on rise. For instance, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which has remained non-operational due to the Covid-19 lockdown, has incurred a revenue loss of nearly INR 10 billion."
It adds, "According to the Bus & Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) the losses are to the tune of INR 650 billion and most of the operators are now on the verge of a shutdown. This sudden change in deviation of transport choices by the public will certainly aggravate the level of emissions and pollution in the long run."
Based on this situation, the study says, "Focus on the national scenario practices and learning from five targeted States, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh shows that it is very unlikely that India will achieve any of the targets of SDG 12. The status of many of the Indicators may further worsen by 2030, compared with 2015, due to the negative impact of the pandemic and various other reasons."
While the country has programmes and policies at national and state levels to support SCP and achieve SDG 12, the study states, "But lack of effective implementation and enforcement of such programmes have failed to bring out the desired impact. A need for an interdepartmental coordination committee to strengthen the waste management system at the State level was also felt strongly."
"From a consumer perspective, while schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission did create mass awareness about cleanliness and hygiene, it could not create any rippling effect to raise public’s awareness about issues like waste segregation, recycling and product life-cycle", it underlines.
It notes, "Despite some ambitious policies and
targets, India still globally stands out as one of the largest consumers
of natural resources and substantial producers of waste of all kinds
with limited infrastructure to collect, responsibly treat, and recycle
the waste they produce."
"In
addition", the study says, "The country performs poorly on the phasing
out fossil fuel subsidies. Subsidies for fossil fuels are still some six
to seven times more than subsidies for clean energy. Apart from these,
there is a very low eagerness on authorities concerned at both Centre
and at the State level to promote sustainable public procurement (SPP)
and sustainable tourism."
Then, it says, "The status of ecolabels and eco-standards are also not yet very encouraging in India. Ecomark, the Indian ecolabel for products, was introduced in 1991. But the label has not found acceptability from both manufacturers and buyers. Though informal and periodic, the country has witnessed few instances of smart and efficient SPP."
The study further says, "Unfortunately, till date, the government has not been able to effectively address the drivers of unsustainable consumption and production patterns such as inadequate commitment, ill-informed society, inequitable growth, lack of technology, limited product life spans, lack of support or push for greener business models, limited incentives for waste prevention via reuse and other means, and the absence of sustainable alternatives to high impacting consumption patterns."
It adds, "Most of the activities fail to get reported because of the lack of awareness among the concerned officials, except a couple of them involved in reporting, SDG, and its importance. They fail to connect such sustainable activities with the SDGs. This was proved to be correct during the survey of our study, as most of the officials were not able to recognise what an SDG is."
Then, it says, "The status of ecolabels and eco-standards are also not yet very encouraging in India. Ecomark, the Indian ecolabel for products, was introduced in 1991. But the label has not found acceptability from both manufacturers and buyers. Though informal and periodic, the country has witnessed few instances of smart and efficient SPP."
The study further says, "Unfortunately, till date, the government has not been able to effectively address the drivers of unsustainable consumption and production patterns such as inadequate commitment, ill-informed society, inequitable growth, lack of technology, limited product life spans, lack of support or push for greener business models, limited incentives for waste prevention via reuse and other means, and the absence of sustainable alternatives to high impacting consumption patterns."
It adds, "Most of the activities fail to get reported because of the lack of awareness among the concerned officials, except a couple of them involved in reporting, SDG, and its importance. They fail to connect such sustainable activities with the SDGs. This was proved to be correct during the survey of our study, as most of the officials were not able to recognise what an SDG is."
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