A comparison of sustainable development consumption and production in the countries of southern and northern Europe based on selected indicators

Abstract

Sustainable consumption and production has been the subject of keen demand in many countries around the world for over 20 years, especially in the countries of the European Union. Despite this, negative environmental effects are still observed, caused by growing consumption and excessive economic growth. Many environmental strategies involve the usual increased resource efficiency and eco- -efficiency of processes and products.However, this does not fully balance the environmental impact caused by the increased consumption, which in the EU is four times higher than public expenditure. However, there are very large differences in the approach to this difficult topic. The northern states of the EU turn out to be more inclinedto being involved in promoting and subsidizing sustainable consumption and production than the countries of southern Europe. The main purpose of the article is to compare sustainable development in the countries of southern and northern Europe andto fathom what the reason forthose differences is,based on specific and selected indicators and influences on countries’ economic development. The research is based on indicators of,among others: domestic material consumption, recycled and composted municipal waste, atmospheric emissions and organic farming.