The UK Autumn conference season’s Labour Party gathering at the beginning of October featured an unusual guest speaker: contemporary philosopher Michael Sandel. The Harvard professor and rock-star moralist dazzled the Party crowd with a lecture on the moral limits of markets, which is also the subject of his latest book “What money can’t buy”.
Sandel’s belief in an active democracy emerges clearly in the book and takes in the form of a call for engaged citizenry. His hope is nothing less than to enrich public debate on what should or shouldn’t belong to the marketplace, as opposed to what …
A group of non-governmental organisations wrote to UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon today in an open letter urging him to give priority, and proper resources, to the preparation of a report on intergenerational solidarity and future generations.
The request to the Secretary General to prepare the report forms part of paragraph 86 of The Future We Want, the UN member state-agreed outcome text from this year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development.
The text of paragraph 86 was disappointing for all those civil society groups and governments that had advocated a High Commissioner for Future Generations. Efforts now need to …
Halina Ward
In this discussion paper, which follows on from an earlier summary paper, Halina Ward makes the case for the creation of a High Commissioner for Future Generations within the United Nations, and sets out proposals on the powers and responsibilities of a High Commissioner and how it could work in practice.
In 2012 and beyond, it is apparent that multiple pressures increase the temptation for ‘short-termism’ at government, individual and organisational levels. The result is a systematic failure to respect the needs of future generations.
The mission of the High Commissioner for Future Generations, the paper argues, should …
Paragraph 57 of the so-called ‘zero draft’ (the first, un-negotiated text) of the document to come out of this year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development, The Future We Want, refers to the creation of an Ombudsperson or High Commissioner for Future Generations.
Currently the draft would commit states only “to further consider” the establishment of a High Commissioner for Future Generations “to promote sustainable development”.
The text is further weakened by that niggling doubt about whether it’s proposing as alternatives an ‘Ombudsperson to promote sustainable development’ or ‘High Commissioner for Future Generations to promote sustainable development’; whether the Ombudsperson …
FDSD’s Halina Ward has been working to further develop earlier summary proposals for a High Commissioner for Future Generations at this year’s UN Conference on Sustiainable Development (‘Rio+20′).
In a new discussion paper, she makes the case for a High Commissioner for Future Generations, and sets out proposals on the powers and responsibilities of a High Commissioner and how it could work in practice.
The paper also looks at how the creation of a High Commissioner would build on commitments that UN member states have already made; how the role of the High Commissioner might evolve over time; and where …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Minister for Future Generations, Septima Tulisa, steps back in time from the year 2050 to give a stark warning about how the world might end up if we don’t start building long-termism into all our decisions. The Minister, played by FDSD Director Halina Ward, comes from a future where humans left it very late indeed before they began to address the needs of future generations. Her plea is that we must not do the same…
The Minister’s speech was one of eight talks given at a “TEDx” event for young people on future generations and intergenerational justice, jointly supported …
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 …
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 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.…
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)…
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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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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