A new paper published today outlines what mandate a UN High Commissioner for Future Generations (UNHCFG) could have, if such a position was created.
The paper, published by FDSD and the World Future Council, has been released to help UN member states and international organisations to prepare for “Rio+20”, the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. It recommends that the mission of a High Commissioner should be:
“to promote and protect the interests of future generations in the context of the imperative to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own …
In a new paper published this month by The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), FDSD Director Halina Ward takes a critical look at ISO 26000, an international standard that aims to encourage organisations to act in a socially-responsible way.
The standard, which was introduced last year, offers guidance across themes including human rights, labour, environment, consumer protection, fair operating practices and community development.
Halina Ward’s paper, ISO 26000 and Global Governance for Sustainable Development, assesses the standard in the light of democracy and sustainable development. It welcomes the standard but makes a series of recommendations that must …
FDSD has submitted written evidence to the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the capacity for strategic thinking in Government.
Our evidence is highly critical of the Government’s approach to strategic thinking when it comes to sustainable development. Highlights from our submission are:
- Sustainable development is taken insufficiently seriously as a political or strategic imperative
- Overarching strategic capacity on sustainable development across Whitehall is sub- optimal
- A political commitment on the part of the Coalition government to end political short- termism does not appear matched by a strategic architecture capable consistently of delivering
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A report published today by the UN High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP) has urged world leaders to put sustainable development into practice as quickly as possible.
The report, which was presented today to UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon, makes 56 recommendations including integration of social and environmental costs into economics, and a strengthening of the links between science and policy-making through adoption of the “planetary boundaries” concept.
The launch of the report follows concerted advocacy work from many people including members of the newly-formed Alliance for Future Generations in the UK, whose members formed a working group to influence policy-making …
This paper is the final report in FDSD’s major two-year research project on The Future of Democracy in the Face of Climate Change. It draws on Papers One to Four to find answers to the question: ‘how might democracy and participatory decision-making have evolved to cope with the challenges of climate change by the years 2050 and 2100?’
Download the report…
Thanks to timely work from members of the Alliance for Future Generations and others, the setting up of a High Commissioner or an Ombudsperson to protect the needs of future generations is now part of a draft declaration to be discussed in preparations for the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development later this year.
The so-called “Zero Draft” declaration was put together by the UN Secretariat for the conference as an initial basis for negotiations, drawing on submissions from civil society groups, governments and international organisations.
On page 10, the ombudsman clause says: “We agree to further consider the …
FDSD teamed up with the Intergenerational Foundation to commission an opinion poll on British attitudes to future generations. The results were both surprising and heartening.
It seems that we British care much more than you might think about our future descendants. More than two thirds (67%) of people interviewed thought the government was not doing enough for future generations. And when asked what was the most important legacy to hand down, far more people (45%) chose “a healthy planet” than chose other options like a thriving economy (9%) or even safety and security (16%).
“This research reveals that,
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The ‘Rio+20′ Working Group of the Alliance for Future Generations has published an open challenge paper(pdf 240k) in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) which will be held in June next year, 20 years on from 1992 Earth Summit.
The paper has already received support from both the former president and the current Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations in Hungary (the only country so far to have such a post). Other signatories are listed at the foot of the paper (link below).
The challenge paper, which was submitted today to the UN secretariat …
FDSD is pleased to be involved in a new initiative exploring legal frameworks for global governance to respect ‘planetary boundaries’. The initiative is designed to focus thinking on how potentially dangerous natural thresholds could be manifested legally.
The planetary boundaries concept, outlined in a 2009 paper in the journal Nature, proposes nine critical Earth-system processes and associated thresholds that humans need to respect and keep within, in order to protect against the risk of irreversible or even catastrophic environmental change at continental to global scales.
FDSD joined a group of lawyers, sustainability experts and scientists at a meeting …
FDSD Director Halina Ward joined members of Friends of the Earth’s local group network in a seminar to discuss a worrying watering down of the definition of “sustainable development”. The seminar noted that the problem is becoming especially bad in local planning policy.
The most widely used definition of sustainable development came from the Brundtland Commission in the 1980s. It defined the term to mean: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. But that’s the short version. The full Brundtland definition goes on to emphasise specifically the …
Many civil society groups around the world have been working towards a ‘zero draft’ Declaration to be agreed at the annual UN Department of Public Administration conference in Bonn. The Declaration is being used as the basis for negotiations during the run-up to ‘Rio+20’, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. FDSD submitted comments.
The Declaration includes calls for measures to ensure a green economy, an institutional framework for sustainable development, promotion of sustainable lifestyles and measures to ensure civic engagement in sustainable development governance.
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We’re really pleased to announce that the recently-formed Alliance for Future Generations has now grown to 40 members. In just a few months the Alliance has grown to include 17 organisations (including leading environmental NGOs) and 23 individuals including well-respected academics, authors and spokespeople on sustainable development.…
FDSD responded to the Environmental Audit Committee’s request to submit written evidence on preparations for Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development due to take place in 2012, 20 years on from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.
In our submission, we warned about ‘signs of erosion in the overall global political commitment to sustainable development’ and recommended urgent action to accept the reality of planetary boundaries, address political short-termism and create institutions to ensure the needs of future generations are built in to decision-making.
FDSD has joined with other NGOs to urge the European Commission to redress a bias towards economic and business issues in its communications leading up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development next year.
In its recent communication Rio+20: towards the green economy and better governance, The European Commission puts the economy, rather than people and the natural environment, centre stage. FDSD, the World Future Council, the Gaia Foundation and the Education Dialogue Group raised five concerns with the EC communication, which we outlined in a series of sign-on letters to several key EC institutions:
- There is no recognition in
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FDSD learned that new administrative arrangements for Hungary’s Commissioner for Future Generations could water down the role of this unique institution, despite strengthened protection for the environment and future generations in Hungary’s new constitution
So far, Hungary leads the world in having such a political position focused on the needs of future generations. We believe it is important to preserve this good example.
We drafted an urgent sign-on letter to MEP József Szájer urging that Hungary continue to demonstrate its global leadership. 18 members of the Alliance for Future Generations signed the letter at only a few hours notice.…
Halina Ward, FDSD’s Director, shared a platform with Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne at the Social Liberal Forum Conference to debate the ‘triple crunch’ of growing shortages in credit, fuel and food.
Halina pointed out that without the underpinning of a proper institutional commitment to sustainable development and democracy, such crises are bound to create pressure for yet more short-termism in government as politicians grapple with immediate pressures at the cost of long-term commitments.
The speech, which made recommendations on where the Liberal Democrats could apply pressure to secure more long-termism in decision-making, was well …
Alliance for Future Generations members Alice Vincent and Rupert Read spoke at a seminar in Bristol on the rights of future generations.
The seminar, organised by the Alliance for Future Generations and the Schumacher Institute, was one of the first opportunities to share more widely the work and ambitions of the Alliance.
See http://www.convergeproject.org/futuregenerationsseminar
(Image credit: detail of a painting by Alke Schmidt)…
FDSD was pleased to be invited to a two-day meeting with leading experts in the sustainability standards movement.
International and national standards have a growing track record in helping to deliver social and environmental goals. For example, ISO14000, which was introduced in 1996, covers environmental management of a company’s operations and encourages continual improvement. And the newly-introduced ISO26000 provides voluntary guidance on social responsibility.
At the meeting, experts agreed a “shared vision” for standards systems as a whole, specifically addressing what role international standards and certification could play in addressing global sustainability challenges. FDSD has a particular interest in exploring …
FDSD has joined 28 other organisations, including the National Trust and the Town and Country Planning Association, to call for the Localism Bill to be amended to include a definition of sustainable development.
“We believe that achieving sustainable development must be at the heart of the planning system. However, there is currently no unifying statutory definition of sustainable development and often decision-makers tend to focus on one pillar (economy, environment or society), rather than integration of all three. This has led to vague duties and weak delivery on the ground.”
The statement is being sent to MPs in advance of …
FDSD Director Halina Ward used a speech to more than fifty civil servants to take stock of progress in global governance arrangements for sustainable development since the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, and to highlight the importance of making progress on institutional frameworks on sustainable development and intergenerational fairness at next year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development.
Halina was speaking alongside government lawyers at an event organised by the UK Environmental Law Association and the Government Legal Service Environment Group.
We will continue to press for proper institutions and policies to be set up that will build the …
The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) has closed its doors after eleven years of carrying out a brief to try to make sustainable development the ‘operating system of choice’ for the four UK governments.
We are very sad to see them go.
In their closing statement, Will Day (Chair) and Andrew Lee (Chief Executive) continued to point to the future, citing the Alliance for Future Generations as a sign of hope:
“A Sustainable Development Act? A Commissioner for the Long Term? An Office for Future Generations? All have been mooted for the UK by a range of stakeholders and some have
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FDSD’s Director, Halina Ward, has severely criticised the Government’s paper “Mainstreaming Sustainable Development” (published last month), saying it is “a hugely disappointing piece of work” and the UK is in effect suffering from “green policy subsidence”: policy pronouncements without real foundation.
As well as revealing a lack of coherent strategy on vital issues like natural resource scarcity, population growth or commodity price spikes, the paper also worryingly attempts to redefine the concept of “sustainable development” itself:
“There’s no sense of urgency about anything very much aside from tackling the deficit – now bafflingly part of the government’s definition of sustainable …
It’s purpose is “to ensure that long-termism and the needs of future generations are brought into the heart of UK democracy and policy processes, in order to safeguard the earth and secure intergenerational justice.”
At the launch meeting it was agreed that members would begin immediate work on three strands:
- Legal and constitutional change: Exploring specific reforms including bringing the needs of future generations into UK parliamentary mandates; local ‘guardians’ for future generations and legal commitments on ‘planetary boundaries’ and environmental limits.
- Narratives and framing: Ensuring the language around ‘future generations’ and ‘long-termism’ is used for positive change not political
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Corruption, fraud and lack of integrity are ever-present threats to both democracy and sustainable development. FDSD’s Director Halina Ward is pleased to have been invited to join the Advisory Group for a new National Integrity Study (NIS) being undertaken by Transparency International UK. The study will score different sectors and institutions according to the extent of their integrity.
June 2011 Update: the National Integrity System Assessment: United Kingdom is now available for download.
You can also read Halina Ward’s July 2011 blog post on corruption and integrity in the UK here: http://www.fdsd.org/2011/07/austerity-without-integrity/…
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) has organised a series of seminars to address the issue of environmental degradation and how it affects poverty and democratic institutions.
Given FDSD’s work on climate change and its possible impacts on democracy, the Church and Society Commission of the CEC (a fellowship of 125 Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant churches in Europe) invited Director Halina Ward to speak at a Consultation on Poverty Wealth and Ecology in Europe. In her presentation, Halina highlighted the potential for a faith-based perspective to drive a progressive agenda on the relationship between democracy and climate change.…
FDSD and Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) organised a half-day seminar to debate democracy and climate change. The meeting was chaired by FDSD Director Halina Ward and included presentations from Michael Jacobs, a former Special Advisor to Gordon Brown, and political scientist Professor Ed Weber of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The meeting debated how various climate change scenarios could affect democracy in the UK and US, and also asked whether international policy-makers, or “climate policy elites”, should share some of the blame for the fact that liberal democracies are finding it very hard to secure …
Ten civil society chief executives including FDSD’s Halina Ward signed an open letter calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to go beyond his pledge for a ‘New Politics’ to adopt a ‘New Politics of the Future’.
The letter warns that short-termism is hampering progress on climate change, changing demographics, youth unemployment, and environmental and social injustice, and could even threaten democracy itself. The letter calls for measures to encourage MPs to consider the needs of future generations and an annual ‘State of the Future’ speech to be delivered by the PM.
The Foundation for Sustainable Development is pleased to announce a collaboration with Schumacher College- the International Centre for Sustainability, Dartington Hall Trust, Salzburg Global Seminar and Goodenough College in London to present an international leadership seminar at Goodenough College in the centre of London, 19-20 April 2010 from 19-20 April 2010.
The seminar is now open for bookings. It will focus on the central question: what innovations are needed in democracy and participatory decision-making, if we want them to deliver the actions required to mitigate and adapt to climate change?
Priced at £75/Euro 85 for the full one …
Over the course of 2010, with the support of a Future of Humanity Grant from US-based Foundation for the Future, we will be working to develop scenarios on “The Future of Democracy in the Face of Climate Change”.
By generating stories about the future we aim to deliver messages about how we need to act and organise ourselves now.
Our research aims to answer the central question: How might democracy and participatory decision-making have evolved to cope with the challenges of climate change by the years 2050 and 2100?
The research will draw on a series of background …
