A Model of Consumption and Environmental Degradation: Making the case for sustainable consumer behaviour

This paper develops and examines a model of the relationship between consumption and environmental degradation, using the per-capita Gross Domestic Product as the proxy for consumer behaviour and per-capita carbon dioxide emissions as the indicator of pollution. The time path of emissions and consumption are modelled within a dynamic framework, and the result is expressed as an optimization problem from which Hamiltonian conditions are derived. These conditions are analysed through the use of a phase diagram, and the empirical section of the paper reveals the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and Gross Domestic Product values across nation-states as well as the United Nations classifications for development among countries. The paper closes with an examination of sustainable consumer behaviour that has global policy implications.