G20 High Level Principles on Lifestyles for Sustainable Development

Development Ministerial Meeting
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, June 12, 2023
[pdf]

I. Chapeau

Lifestyles for Sustainable Development Approach

A. Embodiment of spirit of One Earth. One Family. One Future.

1. Respectful, responsible conservation, sustainable use and regeneration of natural resources is at the heart of environmentally conscious lifestyles as well as consumer choices – One Earth

2. Requires collective and coherent actions, collaboration and coordination amongst stakeholders at all levels, including individuals, communities, academia, media, civil society, government, international organisations, private sector, and industry to combat land degradation and desertification, halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, reduce environmental pollution, and achieve global net zero greenhouse gas emissions by or around mid-century, through low GHG emissions/low-carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable development pathways, taking into account different national circumstances, and capacities – One Family

3. Integrated approach for achieving our shared goals on development, environment and climate[1] with human beings at the centre of our actions, leaving no one behind – One Future

B. Key Pillar of Green Development Pact aims to:

1. Provide strong political impetus through ambitious actions for achieving development, environment and climate goals taking into account different national circumstances and capabilities of all countries, in particular of developing countries.

2. Support and accelerate developing countries' efforts to prioritize adaptation and mitigation actions, including sustainable consumption and production for tackling climate change, combating land degradation and desertification, halting and reversing biodiversity loss, reducing environmental pollution, promoting sustainable production and industrialisation with low GHG emissions and lifting people out of poverty while aiming to leave no one behind.

C. Description

1. It is rooted in individual and community actions across society, while supporting a comprehensive approach that seeks to address all three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social, and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner, through focus on enabling actions till the last mile.

2. While promoting sustainable consumption, it also focuses on comprehensive approaches that are pro-growth and enhance short term and long-term sustainable productivity, and resource efficiency to achieve sustainable development through multi-stakeholder collaborations, including through international partnerships.

3. It encompasses all aspects of international response and efforts for achieving development, environment and climate goals via demand, supply and supporting policy framework by:

4. It aims to realize development, environment and climate goals in an integrated manner, in view of intrinsic relationship that actions, responses and impacts related to climate change and environmental degradation have with sustainable development. It further seeks to support creation of a sustainable ecosystem – an enabling policy environment to promote sustainable lifestyles at all levels.

5. It builds on sustainable lifestyles and sustainable consumption and production patterns as noted or recognised in multilateral documents including in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs especially SDG 12, the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, G20 Rome Leaders' Declaration, G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration, and documents from other G20 Presidencies. Further, it aims to support implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) that is a contribution to achievement of the 2030 Agenda and recognizes that halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity, for the benefit of all living beings, is a common concern of mankind.

6. It aims to take urgent action to mainstream and scale up complementarities in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, waste, land degradation and deforestation through sustainable consumption and production patterns, and various approaches such as resource efficiency, circular economy including zero waste initiatives, and other relevant approaches, as appropriate. Central to this endeavour will be the national and international efforts to promote sustainable and decent jobs, along with the required skills for implementing sustainable, inclusive and just transitions globally, while leaving no one behind.

7. It recognizes that insights from behavioural science can positively impact efforts to address critical global issues.

II. G20 High Level Principles

Principle 1 – Promote interlinkages between development, environment and climate agendas and their associated goals which are at the heart of Lifestyles for Sustainable Development approach

1.1. Encourage an indivisible, universal and integrated approach for delivering on development, environment and climate goals, taking into account different national circumstances.

1.2. Enable enhancement of synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas and their associated goals through strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth while maximising positive co-benefits and minimizing any trade-offs.

1.3. Emphasize the need for an integrated multi-level and multi-stakeholder approach looking at all aspects relating to sustainable development, including by addressing the technology and financing gaps to reach the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs; three Rio conventions – UNFCCC, CBD and KMGBF, UNCCD; the Paris Agreement while promoting strong, sustainable, balanced, inclusive, and resilient economic development and prosperity.

Principle 2 – Aim to support international and national efforts towards meeting the basic needs of all people, especially of poor and people living in vulnerable situations and leaving no one behind

2.1. Aim to move towards sustainable consumption and production patterns, meeting basic needs of all people, addressing aspirations of poor and people living in vulnerable situations while achieving development, environment and climate goals so that no one is left behind.

2.2. Advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and reaffirming its universality as well as its transformative, integrated and indivisible nature, and the collective commitment of leaving no one behind in the achievement of SDGs to promote an inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and social progress, with particular focus on poverty reduction including energy poverty, gender equality and upliftment of the poor and people living in vulnerable situations. In this regard, maintaining livelihoods of those dependent on sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity and ecosystem services is also important.

2.3. Mindful of our leadership role, we reaffirm our steadfast commitments, in pursuit of the objective of the UNFCCC, to tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its temperature goal, reflecting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in light of different national circumstances. Noting the IPCC assessments that the impact of climate change will be much lower at a temperature increase of 1.5 C compared with 2 C, we resolve to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C. This will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries, taking into account different approaches, through the development of clear national pathways that align long-term ambition with short and medium-term goals with international cooperation and support, including finance and technology, and sustainable and responsible consumption and production as critical enablers, in the context of sustainable development.

Principle 3 – Promote environmentally friendly individual and community behaviour including by using behavioural sciences approaches such as nudging and incentives for sustainable and an environmentally conscious lifestyle and choices

3.1. Enable and encourage sustainable consumption including by deploying nudges/incentives, grounded in empirical and scientific evidence behavioural, ecological and other related sciences.

3.2. Reframe approaches to consumption to make them sustainable, inclusive, affordable and accessible to increase the uptake of and make sustainable lifestyles aspirational.

3.3. Highlight and affirm the importance of quality education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, consistent with relevant domestic laws and cooperation at all levels in developing green skills and other relevant skills, tools and resources that encourage sustainable consumer choices and allow policy makers, businesses and individuals to build systems for sustainable lifestyles.

3.4. Promote designing and scaling up of government policies that use different behavioural sciences approaches including nudging and incentives to support and encourage individual behaviours towards sustainable lifestyles, in accordance with national development priorities.

Principle 4 – Promote sustainable production, including through sustainable value chains, technological transitions, innovations and investments in key areas

4.1. Engage all stakeholders in driving synergies while delivering on development, environment and climate goals through sustainable production as well as to create and scale up sustainable ecosystems that are socially inclusive and promote decent jobs to encourage sustainable lifestyles and consumer choices for achieving all SDGs, especially SDG8, SDG9 and SDG12 including through the promotion of 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP) and its One Planet Network.

4.2. Support developing countries to pursue sustainable economic growth, and respect each country's policy space and leadership to implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development, while remaining consistent with relevant international rules and commitments.

4.3. Enable technology transfer on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, and in-line with WTO rules, including in agriculture; promoting innovation, investments in new technologies to unlock resource efficiency, improve productivity and transitions to sustainable lifestyles and consumer choices as well to maximize positive spill overs and minimize negative externalities from productive activities and make supply and value chains inclusive and sustainable.

4.4. Support entrepreneurship, and circular economy approaches through a set of government led policies, including market-based instruments and enhanced financing and investments, especially for areas/ 'hotspots' such as waste management and treatment, sustainable urbanization, resource efficiency in energy, food systems, transport sector and other such areas where interventions have the greatest potential through all sources, including from IFIs, MDBs, DFIs, private sector, inclusive and innovative financing for promoting existing and new models of sustainable production and inclusive, innovative and international partnership models.

Principle 5 – Mainstream sustainability of all components/aspects of the economy

5.1. Promote conservation and sustainable use and management of natural resources, and advance sustainable consumption and production patterns, including through resource efficiency and circular economy.

5.2. Promote a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, secure and sustainable society that leaves no one behind in order to accelerate NDC implementation and just transitions towards net zero GHG emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century, reflecting the latest science and taking into account different national circumstances and approaches, including the circular carbon economy, socio economic, technological and market development.

5.3. Emphasize the creation of an enabling business environment by providing support and incentives to SMEs, zero waste initiatives, social entrepreneurship, and innovation, especially by accelerating public-private partnerships to enhance environmental sustainability while contributing to economic viability and inclusion of all sections of society, including women and youth.

5.4. Emphasize that labour market-oriented vocational education and training improves opportunities for decent employment and social and economic participation.

5.5. Expand policy measures to promote the development of low-and zero-emission products, biodiversity friendly and clean services and stress the importance of sustainable infrastructure, for improving resource efficiency, productivity and sustainability in consumption and production processes, reducing environmental impact, resource degradation, pollution and waste in line with the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs.

5.6. Encourage markets to leverage the potential created by sustainable consumer choices and create the necessary sustainable, resilient, inclusive and quality infrastructure and policies to support sustainable lifestyles.

5.7. Promote research and innovation for development, deployment and dissemination of technologies related to sustainable consumption and production, and its linkages to all aspects of economy including green and blue/ocean-based economy.

5.8. Promote evidence-based policy making to accelerate achievement of development, environment and climate goals, including through lifestyles for sustainable development approach, to create an ecosystem that enables sustainability in all aspects of the economy by focusing on actions to reach the last mile taking into account different approaches.

5.9. Foster sustainable global value chains that are based on internationally accepted standards and as adopted in respective jurisdictions, and in this context, strive to promote the interlinkages between social, economic and environmental sustainability in all components, to the extent practicable. With our collaboration on a smart mix of mandatory and voluntary measures, including legislation, incentives consistent with WTO and other multilateral agreements and guidance for businesses, we strive to create a conducive business environment that is coherently mainstreaming sustainability across the different sectors of the economy.

Principle 6 – Responsibly and inclusively leverage the potential of data and digital technology for the adoption of sustainable consumption and production patterns as part of a sustainable ecosystem

6.1. Highlight the role of disaggregated data especially with regard to gender, and digital technology, to achieve development, environment and climate goals.

6.2. Leverage data to support and enable last mile behaviour change towards adopting and incentivising sustainable lifestyles and consumer choices.

6.3. Encourage responsible use of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning in line with national legislations and regulations and strengthen the use of geospatial data including access to early warning systems for disaster risk reduction, and to build relevant disaggregated datasets that enable strong analysis, wider dissemination of information, and tracking changes so as to create an enabling environment and supportive policy framework to achieve development, environment and climate goals.

6.4. Promote capacity-building on data, including digital literacy and skills, especially for all women and girls in diverse situations and conditions[2], and digital technologies that can help bridge the gender digital divide and reduce inequalities.

6.5. Encourage responsible adoption of digital technologies in ways that minimize their negative environmental and climate impact.

6.6. Empower local and regional governments to strengthen evidence-based policy making through better and more inclusive data collection on SDGs indicators, including SDG12.

6.7. To ensure that data collection, processing, storage and sharing, necessary to achieve development, environment and climate goals in an integrated manner are conducted in a safe and secure way while protecting personal data and privacy, in accordance with the relevant applicable legal frameworks.

Principle 7 – Recognize and amplify the role of local communities, local and regional governments and traditional knowledge in supporting sustainable lifestyles

7.1. Empower local and traditional communities as well as Indigenous Peoples, who live in harmony with nature, to share their knowledge on ground level sustainability practices, sustainable use and management of biodiversity and ecosystems and addressing challenges and supporting such solutions and strengthening platforms for their participation in policymaking, especially by supporting local and regional governments in establishing inclusive planning processes. We will also leverage the G20 Platform on SDGs Localisation and Intermediary Cities and other relevant initiatives to promote lifestyles for sustainable development approach.

7.2. Strive to ensure that people living in vulnerable situations and underrepresented groups with untapped economic potential have a voice in sustainable, inclusive and just transitions globally, while leaving no one behind.

Principle 8 – Recognize the crucial role of financing in achieving development, environment and climate goals in an integrated manner

8.1. Acknowledge financing from all sources, supported by strong domestic policies as critical enablers for sustainable and responsible consumption and production in the context of efforts to achieve development, environment and climate goals.

8.2. Galvanize strong international efforts and collective actions for financing including grant and concessional financing, to catalyse investments to create sustainable, resilient, inclusive and quality infrastructure, especially in sectors such as transport systems, waste management and sustainable urbanization, resource efficiency in the energy and sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems and other such areas in developing countries, as also highlighted by the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment that support sustainable lifestyle choices and aim to maximize the positive economic, social, environmental, impact of infrastructure, to achieve sustainable growth and development.

8.3. Leverage finance from all sources, including from existing international commitments for development, environment and climate agendas, towards enabling sustainable lifestyle choices as part of global efforts towards tackling climate change including actions for adaptation and mitigation, pollution, biodiversity loss and desertification.

8.4. Highlight that developing countries, and in particular LDCs and SIDS, require increased international financing, including investments, in order to complement domestic resources for the financing of the transitions that will enable achievement of the SDGs, KMBGF, global net zero GHG emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century, through climate resilient and environmentally sustainable development pathways, and the various transitions that these international efforts entail.

8.5. Mobilisation and alignment of financing from all sources, including domestic and international should be in line with achieving ambitious climate and environment goals, including the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement's long term goals, taking into account countries' national agendas towards achieving sustainable development, underscoring the importance of predictability, adequacy and timeliness.

Principle 9 – Strengthen international cooperation, collective action and partnerships

9.1. In line with international efforts, work with international and regional organizations and other relevant actors to make lifestyles for sustainable development approach a global movement by anchoring it in our global endeavour for achieving development, environment and climate goals in an integrated manner, as appropriate.

9.2. Cooperation and partnerships for sustainable lifestyles intend to complement climate mitigation and adaptation actions, including through circular economy, resource efficiency and other relevant approaches, as well as efforts targeted at halting and reversing biodiversity loss, eliminating pollution, addressing land degradation, highlighting collective action and engagement across all sections of society, including women, children, persons with disabilities, youth and migrants to amplify the actions for sustainable lifestyles and consumer choices.

9.3. Enhance global collaboration for sustainable lifestyles and sustainable consumer choices complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships, as applicable, that mobilize and share technology on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, and in line with WTO rules, knowledge, expertise, best practices and financial resources, utilising existing platforms to the extent possible, to support the mainstreaming of sustainable lifestyles and consumer choices for achieving sustainable development.

[1] Throughout the document, these include relevant goals and targets, inter alia, related to addressing climate change, halting and reversing biodiversity loss, reducing pollution, combatting land degradation and desertification. ↩

[2] Throughout this document women and girls may be read in conjunction with "irrespective of age, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status". ↩

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