by Andrea Westall | Jun 15, 2012
FDSD co-organised a workshop session in Rio de Janeiro as part of a two-day event Fair ideas: sharing solutions for a sustainable planet hosted by IIED and the Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC) The event was held at the (PUC) together with The...
by Andrea Westall | Mar 21, 2012
Halina Ward built on The Mandate of a UN High Commissioner for Future Generations to further outline powers and responsibilities, building on commitments that UN member states have already made; how the role might evolve over time; and where it could be sited. Annexes...
by Andrea Westall | Feb 21, 2012
Published by FDSD and the World Future Council, this paper was written to help UN member states and international organisations prepare for “Rio+20”, the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, suggesting specific powers and responsibilities. The authors...
by Andrea Westall | Jan 21, 2012
The Future of Democracy in the Face of Climate Change was a piece of research which ran from late 2009 to early 2012. It resulted in five reports which explore the question of: How might democracy and participatory decision-making have evolved to cope with the...
by Andrea Westall | Dec 21, 2011
Tim O’Riordan notes our reluctance to forego the benefits of a carbon-dependent world. We want sustainability but are not prepared to vote for it. The main problem is short-termism, exacerbated when things are financially tight. Tim notes that the one piece of...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2011
When 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, we...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2011
Following the suggestions of Intergenerational Foundation’s report Hoarding of Housing: the intergenerational crisis in the housing market, Halina Ward argues that the UK Government has no consistent approach to future generations, and that ‘future generation’...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2011
FDSD submitted evidence to the PASC (Public Administration Select Committee) Inquiry into Government policy and the capacity for strategic thinking in Whitehall arguing that the UK needs to create new institutions to overcome short-term electoral cycles, and to have...
by Andrea Westall | Sep 21, 2011
On 9th September 2010, UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called for a “horizon shift” to respond to a political culture and society which has become too short-term. Halina argues that, whilst the analysis is good, the proposed solutions – increased mobility...
by Andrea Westall | Dec 21, 2010
This report suggests ten governance options for the UK to embed a more future-oriented approach in UK politics, including an Office for Future Generations to an annual Congress of the Future and a new parliamentary chamber. Peter Roderick highlights some of the UK’s...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2010
FDSD and WWF-UK argued that sustainable development should be a central organizing principle of national and local government alongside constitutional, legislative and executive protections. We argued for institutional innovations such as the Hungarian Parliamentary...
by Andrea Westall | Feb 25, 2010
FDSD co-organised with the UK Environmental Law Association an event at the Ministry of Justice in London to present Hungary’s Green Ombudsman Dr Sándor Fülöp to see what lessons could be learned for the UK. <Insert press release...
by Andrea Westall | Jan 16, 2010
Ten civil society chief executives, including FDSD, 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” since short-termism is hampering progress on tackling climate change;...
by Andrea Westall | Dec 21, 2009
Ian Christie argues that the “Climategate” scandal, where emails between scientists were stolen from the University of East Anglia in the UK, show that scientists need to better communicate the contested and probabilistic nature of data, be aware of their own values...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2009
Halina Ward believes that the UK’s Sustainable Communities Act, 2007 takes a conservative approach to sustainable development, seeing economic, social and environmental issues separately, rather than creating an “integrated approach to decision-making”. Halina Ward...
