ABSTRACT
An emerging element in global environmental governance is a focus on
‘‘sustainable consumption’’ (French 2004; Fuchs and Lorek 2002). A range
of international agencies has articulated the notion of sustainable con-
sumption (SC) as a key element in the broader discourse of sustainable
development. It has the potential to become in the long term one of the
central general elements in the post-Rio map of global environmental gov-
ernance, one able to articulate a broad range of specific regulatory or gov-
ernance projects under its wing. Thus, the usefulness or lack thereof of SC as a concept is crucial in terms of the pursuit of sustainability.
