Can Consumers Save the Planet from Climate Change?

Achieving a low-Carbon Economy: Consumer Challenges and Solutions

28 April 2010

Venue : Hotel Renaissance, 1143 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20037

Summary

This conference brought together consumer, government, industry and academic experts for a day of debate and dialogue on consumer challenges and solutions in moving towards a low-carbon economy. The conference began by assessing the state of play following the Copenhagen Climate Negotiations and the role of consumption more broadly in the climate change debate. The conference then went on to look at the role of consumer information and labelling, standards and regulation and incentives in helping consumers to behave in a more sustainable manner. The conference concluded with a discussion on how the EU and US could engage in further cooperation to deliver on energy efficiency. 

AGENDA

08.00 – 08.45 Registration

09.00 – 10.30 Opening Session – Setting the Scene

Chair: Rasmus Kjeldahl – Executive Director, Danish Consumer Council & Head of Consumers International delegation to COP15

Keynote speakers:
•    Jacob Werksman - Program Director, Institutions and Governance Program, World Resources Institute

The Real Challenge – Why Consumption is Important

•    Martin Lidegaard – President, CONCITO, Denmark's Green Think Tank

Q&A session

10.30 – 10.45 Coffee Break

10.45 – 12.15 Panel 1

Consumers and the Power of Choice: assessing approaches to labeling and consumer information

What labeling systems are out there? Which ones work best, why and in which sectors? What are the limits of labeling, and consumer choice more broadly?  How much of a problem is label proliferation for consumers?  What is the role of third-party certification in avoiding ‘greenwash’?

Chair: Ruth Golding – Senior Policy Officer, Consumers International

•    Monika Buening – VZBV, Germany
•    Shannon Baker-Branstetter – Consumers Union
•    Hampton Newsome - US Federal Trade Commission
•    Olivier Pairault - Deputy Counselor Climate Change and Ecology, French Embassy to the United State

Q&A session

12.15 – 13.15 Lunch

13.15 – 14.30 Panel 2

Greening the market for consumers: the role of standards and regulation

Labels allow consumers to make informed choices about the products and services that they purchase. But how can markets move towards a scenario where choices are between efficient products rather than efficient and inefficient products? In making this happen, what is the role of standards and regulations? What makes a good standard?  Should standards cover a range of lifecycle impacts e.g. beyond just energy efficiency in use? What are the benefits of standards over voluntary agreements? What role should retailers and governments play in “choice editing” i.e. eliminating the least efficient products from the market. 

Chair: David Ortega - Director of European and International Public Affairs, Organisation of Users and Consumers, Spain

•    Rosita Zilli – Policy Adviser, EURO COOP, the European Community of Consumer Cooperatives
•    Sylvia Maurer – Project Coordinator, BEUC, the European Consumers Organisation
•    Dr Mark Cooper – Senior Fellow for Economic Analysis, Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School

14.30 – 15.45 Panel 3

A Nudge in the Right Direction: what works to incentivize consumers?

Consumers often lack the necessary information and resources to reduce their energy usage.  Increasingly, government policy seeks to create incentives to encourage energy efficiency and sustainability. Which mechanisms give consumers a helping hand? Are policies such as subsidies, tax incentives, utility rate structures, and "smart meters" effective? To what extent does the built environment pre-determine our behavior and how can this be overcome? How do we ensure that incentive schemes don't discriminate against low-income or vulnerable consumers? 

Chair: Steve Suppan - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

•    Tyson Slocum  - Energy Programme Director, Public Citizen
•    Jill Johnstone – Director of International Policy and Advocacy, Consumer Focus, UK
•    Janee Briesemeister - Senior Legislative Representative, Government Relations and Advocacy, AARP

15.45 – 16.00 Coffee Break       

16.00 – 17.15 Panel 4

Working together to promote energy efficiency: a consumer-driven agenda for transatlantic cooperation

How can the EU and U.S. cooperate effectively to improve and promote energy efficiency? What are the priority areas that should be addressed and how can stakeholders play an active part?  How can we learn from each other?

Chair: Rhoda Karpatkin – President Emeritus, Consumers Union

•   Kathryn Hauser – U.S. Executive Director, TABD
•   Dr Phyllis Yoshida - Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Energy Cooperation, Office of Policy and International Affairs, US Department of Energy
•    Monique Goyens – Director General, BEUC

17.15 – 17.30 Wrap-up and closing remarks

•    Rasmus Kjeldahl – Executive Director, Danish Consumer Council & Head of Consumers International Delegation to COP15