Greening the Danes? Experience with consumption and environment policies |
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Authors: | Toke Haunstrup Christensen Mirjam Godskesen Kirsten Gram-Hanssen Maj-Britt Quitzau Inge Røpke |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Management, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet, Building 424, Kgs. Lyngby, 2800, Denmark 2. Danish Building Research Institute, Dr. Neergaards Vej 15, H?rsholm, 2970, Denmark 3. Department of Policy Analysis, National Environmental Research Institute, P.O. Box 358, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, 4000, Denmark
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Abstract: | Consumer-oriented environmental policies came high on the political agenda during the 1990s. Internationally, consumers were assigned a key role in environmental policies; also in Denmark, political initiatives were taken to promote sustainable consumer behaviour. In this article, the results of Danish policies related to consumption and environment are assessed by considering first, the environmental impacts of the political measures, and second, whether the policies have succeeded in addressing the dynamics behind increasing consumption. The study combines a theoretical understanding of consumption as an inseparable part of daily practices with empirical analyses of three fields of consumption: housing, transportation, and information and communication technology. It is pointed out that policies to promote sustainable consumption are successful only when technological development, economic structures, and information are all in accordance with each other, and this is the case only when sustainable consumption does not conflict with economic growth. A more fundamental critique thus concerns the failure of Danish consumer-oriented environmental policies to address consumption growth and the rising standards for “normal consumption.” |
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Keywords: | Consumer-oriented environmental policy Sustainable consumption Housing Transport Information and communication technology Denmark |
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