PRESS RELEASE, 26 October, 2011
On a day when the Cabinet is coming under fire for being split on green issues [1], the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has published a report [2] warning that business as usual may rule the day at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development next year.
Halina Ward, Director of the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development (FDSD), whose written evidence [3] has been extensively referenced [4] in the EAC report, said:
On the EAC report:
“There is a real risk that Rio + 20′s green economy theme will deliver little more than ‘slightly greened business as usual’, particularly given the difficult economic circumstances in which many nations find themselves.”
On the possibility of the Prime Minister not attending [5] Rio+20:
“If the Prime Minister will not be attending Rio+20, we sincerely hope that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will go instead. It is vital that UK the shows a high-level political commitment to sustainable development.”
On the Cabinet split:
“The fact that the Cabinet is unable to come to a shared position on the green economy shows clearly that the UK is suffering from a dangerous ‘policy subsidence’ on sustainable development issues.”
“If your commitment to sustainable development is based largely on rhetoric without proper strategic and institutional underpinning, it’s like building a house on sand — policy subsidence is the inevitable result. And that’s what we’re now seeing.”
“The emerging green split at Cabinet level is just the latest symptom of a lack of strategic thinking on sustainable development.”
CONTACTS:
Halina Ward, Director, +44 (0) 7825 164996
Joe Short, Media and Communications, +44 (0) 7967 481693
press@fdsd.org
NOTES TO EDITORS
- See http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/26/chris-huhne-renewable-energy-critics and http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/osbornes-antigreen-agenda-splits-coalition-2375993.html
- The EAC report is available at:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/news/rio-20-report/ - Evidence from the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development is available at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmenvaud/1026/1026vw08.htm - Specific parts of FDSD’s evidence referred to in the EAC’s report are listed below.
- See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15450273
FDSD’S EVIDENCE REFERRED TO IN THE EAC REPORT
It is clear that to energise Rio+20, two decades after the original Earth Summit, a new generation needs to be enthused about the need for action and the difference that they can make. As the Foundation for Democracy & Sustainable Development put it, civil society involvement in Rio+20 is needed for ‘sharing good practice and catalysing the next generation of political activism and social innovation for sustainable development’.[12]
(paragraph 7)
The Foundation for Democracy & Sustainable Development (FDSD) identified ‘signs of erosion in the overall global political commitment to sustainable development’.
(paragraph 14)
The poverty-reduction imperative, flowing from the Brundtland Commission giving the ‘over-riding priority’ to meeting the needs of the world’s poor, led to ‘an over-emphasis on economic growth’. Rio+20 might further that imbalance.[33]
(paragraph 15)
A common thread in the evidence we have taken is that a green economy should also be a fair economy.[72]
(paragraph 30)
The Foundation for Democracy & Sustainable Development (FDSD) highlighted that the North/South divide over the green economy has helped polarise discussion on technology transfer and financial assistance for developing countries.[84]
(paragraph 33)
FDSD want to see a UN High Commissioner for Future Generations created,[115]
(paragraph 43)
IIED, however, think that reform of governance at UN level is a ‘misplaced prioritisation’ because the ‘dominant governance capacity to deliver sustainable development lies at national level’.[117] FDSD made a similar point.[118]
(paragraph 43)
A further danger is that the current financial crisis will tempt countries to aim for a ‘slightly greened business as usual’.[146]
(paragraph 53)
In the international arena, the Environment Secretary has visited Brazil to discuss the Conference.[157] She also contributed to European Environment Council ‘conclusions’ agreed on 10 October,[158] which took on board the European Commission’s June 2011 paper on Rio+20. FDSD saw ‘wishful thinking’ in that earlier paper because it did not see slowing growth as a response to the need to protect the environment.[159]
(paragraph 56)
ENDS