OECD Ministerial, 08-09 October: Consumers International places people at the heart of transitions
Consumers are at the heart of the global economy. Our spending accounts for approximately 60% GDP in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. And we have an important role to play in the digital and green transitions. These transitions require decisive action, and to be successful – an approach that supports and builds with us.
This week Consumers International will participate in the first-ever OECD Consumer Policy Ministerial Meeting in Paris. The event entitled Consumers at the Centre of the Digital and Green Transitions is an unprecedented opportunity to help address the risks and opportunities people face across digital markets and in their purchase of goods and services with environmental impacts.
Placing people and their consumer rights at the heart of transitions
Consumers International is the only consumer group invited to the Ministerial and we are bringing a global delegation to discussions. This week we will share the unique value and approach of the consumer advocacy movement which can help drive the transitions and ensure that consumer policy is fit for the future.
Our Delegation
We are honoured to join heads of delegations and business at the Ministerial. We support the agenda’s core focus areas yet highlight several opportunities to help meaningful engage consumers.
Hearing and learning from the experience and needs of consumers.
With 200 members in 100 countries, Consumers International hears the voices of consumers from all walks of life. This helps decision-makers understand consumer needs, top priorities and the urgency of action. For example, we have routinely shared that consumers increasingly want to live sustainably, but they desperately need the support of public and private actors to act now. We found that 80% of consumers globally believe government, business and international government organisations are responsible for bringing about supportive, necessary changes to help consumers shift their behaviours towards sustainable living.
The OECD agenda has highlighted that the issues we face in the modern marketplace transcend across borders and sectors, and this calls for robust enforcement and interoperable solutions. Consumer groups have a long history of helping enforcement, their mandates routinely include monitoring market practices alongside conducting research, and initiatives which shape policy for the better. In certain areas such as product safety, market surveillance proves a lifeline to people in the marketplace and ensures greater accountability across complex product life cycles.
Bringing the consumer voice to discussions. Consumers International is privileged to join significant discussions on consumer policy. Our role at the Ministerial itself, UNCTAD and recently at the G20 are some examples of this. Yet often consumer groups are not offered a seat at the table. This is a missed opportunity given their trusted role to consumers, their innovative solutions, and the contribution they make to empirical research and market monitoring.
The same can be said for national-level discussions to build bridges for long-term impact. Our Digital Finance Index showed that in advanced transitioning countries, those with higher levels of consumer protection are also those where there is more frequent and higher quality engagement with regulators. Through our Fair Digital Finance Accelerator we have helped to establish bridges between regulators and consumer groups, and as a result we are seeing policy change develop across Mexico, Uganda, Fiji and several other nations
Given the immense value of consumer policy to global growth, global goals and other interlinkages we must all work harder to raise its visibility. Consumer advocates do this daily at local and national levels – whether through the grassroots campaigns our Members ran last week, joining global campaigns or on the international stage with Consumers International. We welcome partners at the OECD to help amplify these moments to help expand our network and raise awareness for consumer policy.
Our intervention begins
As the OECD Ministerial begins today, we will share our position and recommendations across thematic areas including at our multi-stakeholder VIP lunch: A shared roadmap for safety and sustainability, where we highlight the nexus of two core consumers issues, and how this intersection can be used in solutions. Our delegation will attend other important sessions on the Digital Transition, Green Transition, Product Safety, Inclusivity and better Protection across Borders. On Thursday 10 October we will join the OECD Financial Consumer Protection Working Group Meeting to raise the voice of vulnerable consumers in finance, and our approach to addressing scams.
Keep an eye on this page as we share our take across these areas.