Setting the scene: Consumers at the centre of the digital and green transitions
Oct 8, 2024 | 10:30 AM - 12:30 PMCC1
Oct 8, 2024 | 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
CC1
Description
Consumers are at the centre of the global economy. Their spending accounts for around 60% of GDP in OECD countries. As the largest economic group, they can play an important role in the digital and green transitions. However, they face numerous challenges requiring decisive action. Digital markets give rise to significant and often obscured risks, including a range of harmful business practices undermining consumer choice and trust. Unsafe products are readily available for sale online and digital technologies in products may pose novel product safety risks. And despite many consumers wanting to make more sustainable choices, they often encounter obstacles. As these issues transcend borders and other policy areas, robust consumer policy and enforcement, supported by policy and empirical research and international and cross-policy co-operation, are critical to protect and empower consumers. This plenary will set the scene for the Ministerial - an unprecedented opportunity to explore how whole-of-government and multi-disciplinary approaches can address risks and opportunities consumers face in digital markets and those for goods and services with environmental impacts, and how the OECD can support countries in tackling these challenges.
