How over-consumption affects climate change
We are facing one of the most serious problems today - climate change. Experts warn that our actions are having a lasting impact on the Earth's climate, leading to serious consequences for nature, species diversity and human life and health. One of the main factors accelerating these changes is the overuse of resources, which causes uncontrolled consumption of natural resources and generates large amounts of waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
Over-consumption is driving climate change, this is due to our purchasing habits and use of goods. The production and use of household products and services generates a huge amount of greenhouse gases, accounting for as much as 60% of global emissions. People living in rich countries have a particularly large impact on emissions. As more people move into the middle class and their wealth increases, the problem is only getting worse. Once basic needs are met, people often turn to products as an expression of their social status. As people strive for higher status, their demands for expensive items symbolising that status increase. The production of these goods contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, leading to climate change. While technology can provide energy efficiency solutions that can help combat climate change, the growth in consumption (and to a lesser extent population growth) has largely outpaced the benefits of technological advances in recent decades. This means that simply 'greening' our purchases, i.e. buying more sustainably produced products, is not enough. It is necessary to reduce consumption itself.
One of the key factors contributing to consumerism is ubiquitous advertising and aggressive marketing. Companies carefully shape our wants and needs through attractive advertising campaigns that convince us that owning certain products is the key to happiness, success and social acceptance. Convenience and the ability to quickly access a variety of products make buying easier and more commonplace. In addition, increased globalisation and technological developments are making products from around the world more readily available to consumers. Internet commerce and international supply chains enable fast and convenient shopping, which can lead to increased consumption.
Consumption is widely seen as an integral part of economic growth, as our demand for different things makes companies profitable and creates new jobs. In order to maintain this growth, companies deliberately design their products to age quickly by changing their design, for example, in the fashion industry, or updating designs or software, while no longer supporting older models. Prices are also often slashed to encourage us to buy, as they do not take into account the real costs of production - such as environmental and social impacts.
Over-consumption has a significant impact on climate change, being a vital link in the cause-and-effect chain that accelerates global warming. By generating massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, the excessive consumption rush exacerbates the problems of climate disruption, causing extreme weather events, melting glaciers and rising sea and ocean levels. In the face of the growing threat of climate change, it is becoming essential to take action on various fronts to curb excessive consumption and promote more sustainable consumption patterns.
Bibliografia:
https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/12/16/buying-stuff-drives-climate-change/
https://netimpact.org/blog/overproduction-overconsumption-consequences
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/rethinking-overconsumption-culture-climate-crisis/156269/
