sei-pb-2012-low-ghg-consumption-8a4035bc972777cf.pdf

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the potential conflict between low-greenhouse-gas (GHG) consumption strategies in high-income countries and the economic development of lower-income countries. Using a scenario developed for the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the authors find that while shifting consumption from goods to services can reduce emissions and benefit the domestic economy of a high-income country, it may cause significant GDP declines in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) due to reduced trade in manufactured goods, particularly clothing.

• Shifting consumer behavior in high-income countries—specifically by purchasing fewer goods and more services while maintaining spending levels—can reduce associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 10 per cent.
• The implementation of the WRAP low-GHG consumption scenario in the U.K. is projected to increase the U.K.'s GDP by 4.6% because spending shifts from imported goods (such as vehicles, which average 59% imported value) to domestically produced services (such as recreational services, which are only 17% imported).
• Low-GHG consumption shifts in the U.K. alone could lead to GDP declines of 0.3 per cent for lower-income countries and 0.7 per cent for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• If the EU-27 and other high-income countries also adopted the WRAP scenario, the economic impact on poorer nations would intensify, with lower-income country GDP potentially dropping by 4.5 per cent and LDC GDP dropping by 5.7 per cent.
• The negative economic impacts on lower-income countries and LDCs are primarily driven by reduced consumption of clothing and other manufactured goods, whereas shifts in diet, food waste, and vehicle purchases have fewer impacts.
• To align climate goals with development, the authors suggest preferentially sourcing products from low-GHG and low-income regions, noting that GHG intensity for clothing production can vary by a factor of four or more between countries.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). sei-pb-2012-low-ghg-consumption-8a4035bc972777cf.pdf. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/SEI-PB-2012-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. sei-pb-2012-low-ghg-consumption-8a4035bc972777cf.pdf. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/SEI-PB-2012-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=sei-pb-2012-low-ghg-consumption-8a4035bc972777cf.pdf |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/SEI-PB-2012-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendseipb2012lowghgconsumption8a4035bc972777cfpdf, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{sei-pb-2012-low-ghg-consumption-8a4035bc972777cf.pdf}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/SEI-PB-2012-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }