Driving forces, environmental pressures and policy instruments sustainable consumption assessment for Latvia

Abstract

Current unsustainable consumption patterns are one of the main sustainable development challenges, which have been recognised by many researchers, and are part of global, regional and national policies. Household consumption volumes and pressures on the environment in Latvia, although in most cases below EU average, have negative trends and tend to increase. The aim of this research was to investigate consumption trends in Latvia, the main driving forces behind household consumption (sustainable and unsustainable) patterns, to identify the main stakeholders and their roles and propose policy instruments and recommendations for sustainable consumption development in Latvia. The research methodology was based on desk research of statistical data and three different co-creation focus group interviews with representatives from NGOs and scientific communities working on sustainable consumption issues. The results show that the main driving forces depend on the individual's internal factors such as personal values, knowledge, personal income as well as external factors: infrastructure, availability of information, prices and legislation. The main stakeholders responsible for sustainable consumption development are public (government) bodies, commercial enterprises, NGOs and households. The chapter concludes by outlining the main preconditions for sustainable development in Latvia.