Memorandum from the Sustainable Development
Commission
THIS MEMORANDUM IS IN THE FORM OF NEWS RELEASES AND
BACKGROUND INFORMATION RELEASED BY THE COMMISSION BETWEEN 24 AUGUST
AND 1 OCTOBER 2002
BACKGROUND TO
THE WORLD
SUMMIT ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The Summit took place in Johannesburg between
26 August and 4 September 2002. Approximately 65,000 participants
from business, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs),
academia and civil society took part in the Summit. Over 100 heads
of state or government also attended.
Following on from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio
de Janeiro, the Summit aimed to "reinvigorate political commitment
to sustainable development". Some of the key issues for the
Summit were poverty, development aid, climate change and energy
use, food and farming, health, water and biodiversity.
THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
The Sustainable Development Commission is an
independent advisory body, with 24 Commissioners drawn from business,
NGOs, local and regional government and academia. Established
in October 2000, the Commission reports jointly to Tony Blair
and the leaders of the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland
and Northern Ireland.
The Sustainable Development Commission's mission
"is to inspire government, the economy and society to embrace
sustainable development as the central organising principle."
Its task, given by government, is to advocate sustainable development
across all sectors in the UK, review progress towards it and build
consensus on the actions needed if further progress is to be achieved.
During the Summit, the Commission produced news
releases, commentary and background to the event as it unfolded,
to show how development issues that are crucial to developing
countries have impact and relevance in the UK. Besides the news
releases and commentaries recorded in this review, a number of
Commissioners also gave interviews on the broadcast media and
to the specialist press on a range of related topics.
MEMBERS OF
THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Two Commissioners, Maria Adebowale and Professor
Tim O'Riordan were members of the UK delegation and four other
Commissioners were present representing their own organisations.
They were Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London, Professor Rod
Aspinwall, Deputy Chairman of the Enviros Group, Charles Secrett,
Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, and Derek Osborn,
Chairman of the Stakeholder Forum for Our Common Future.
WHAT IS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
Two centuries of industrial development have
made life better for many people in ways that would have been
unimaginable even a generation ago. But it has also brought increasing
damage to the physical systems and social fabric on which our
well-being depends. It is clear we cannot continue in this way
indefinitely. Indeed the call for a change of direction is urgent.
What we need now is a different kind of development, one which
meets people's needs without compromising our future. For this
to be sustainable, we must take full account of the social, economic
and environmental impacts of our decisions, over the long term.
24 August 2002 News Release
"Time to cut the knocking copy and get
real"
On the eve of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of the UK Sustainable
Development Commission (the Government's principal advisory body
on sustainable development) has expressed deep concern at the
confrontationalism and partisan intolerance of so many of the
leading protagonists.
"Far too many people are exploiting
the Summit to grandstand their own sectoral self-interest. In
the process, the benefits of a wide range of cross-sectoral partnerships
that have come into being since the Earth Summit 10 years ago
are being ignored, and the opportunity (through the Action Plan
under discussion in Johannesburg) to put such partnerships at
the heart of international efforts for sustainable development
appears to have been sidelined."
— Government Ministers are inclined
to inflate the Government's five year record (which is good, when
set against the record of most other governments, but not that
good), rather than telling it as it really is, warts and all.
What's more, New Labour's naive adulation for the big business
blinds it both to the limitations of the "voluntary approach"
it so adamantly espouses, and to the strength of NGOs and the
public sector (particularly at the local level) in delivering
solutions on the ground.
— Environmental NGOs are still
hell-bent on demonising all multinationals as the wicked agents
of planetary destruction—wilfully ignoring the huge changes
in both the policies and performance of dozens of global companies
since the Earth Summit in Rio 10 years ago. To deny the importance
of that contribution is dishonest and highly damaging to the whole
of cross-sectoral partnership.
— Business champions of sustainable
development refuse to acknowledge in public the grave damage being
done to the global environment and social cohesion by the worst
excesses of growth-at-all-costs globalisation, and fail to offer
any serious rebuttal of the intellectually detective material
put out by right-wing think-tanks and self-serving "contrarians"
that purport to speak on their behalf.
— Much of the media take self-indulgent
advantage of this unfortunate sectarianism, favouring personal
abuse of politicians, debilitating cynicism about the Summit as
a whole, and superficial coverage geared to the rows rather than
to the issues.
As a result, few people are prepared to take
time out from their demeaning squabbles to look at some of the
much more positive aspects of the Johannesburg Summit.
— Many of the solutions to the
problems being addressed in Johannesburg can only be brokered
by a radically different approach to cross-sectoral partnerships
at every level of society.
— Thousands of organisations, big
and small, are already engaged in partnerships of that kind, delivering
real solutions to millions of peoples' real problems in communities
all over the world.
— There is now far more to be gained
by learning how to expand that "common ground" laboriously
built-up over the last decade rather than endlessly seeking to
belittle everybody else's efforts."
In a hard-hitting article in this Sunday's Observer,
Jonathon Porritt reaffirms the critical importance of the Johannesburg
Summit, sets out to separate fact from fiction in assessing the
Government's record on sustainable development over the last five
years, and to move beyond some of the negative confrontationalism.
He also deplores the US Administration's outright hostility to
sustainable development, declaring George Bush's decision not
to go to Johannesburg as a "Blessed relief".
His article ends with a plea to the Prime Minister
to take a far more emphatic leadership role in promoting sustainable
development, both in his speech in Johannesburg and on his return
to the UK.
30 August 2002 Media Backgrounder
The Sustainable Development Commission and
the WSSD
What is the World Summit on Sustainable Development
and why does it matter?
The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) runs from 26 August to 4 September in Johannesburg,
South Africa. Billed as the largest United Nations gathering in
history, what effect will the Summit have on the lives on people
in the UK?
Jonathon Porritt (Chairman of the Commission)
and other Commissioners have expertise in a range of key Summit
themes that are relevant to the challenges we face in this country.
— Climate change is probably the single
biggest environmental issue facing the UK today. What can we do
about it?
— People living in poverty in the UK
suffer from higher levels of pollution than their wealthy counterparts.
How can be help them?
— How can be reinvigorate our countryside
through tourism that benefits local people and the environment?
— The food we eat affects people, wildlife
and the environment in the UK and all over the world. Where does
our food come from and how can we make sure that our food is good
for us, and good for the world?
— How can sustainable development revive
our inner cities and regenerate deprived areas of the UK?
— What can we do to improve dramatically
the way we generate and use energy in this country?
— Is the Summit bad news for British
business?
— How does globalisation affect our
lives?
— Why it is imperative that sustainable
development becomes a central organising principle for UK government?
And why the rather abstract, academic notion
of "sustainable development" is the most important thing
there is.
29 August 2002 News Release
Bringing it Home
The World Summit for Sustainable Development matters
to the UK, the Sustainable development Commission explains why
Members of the UK Sustainable Development Commission
(the Government's principal advisory body on sustainable development)
are available for interview, to explain and comment on the relevance
of sustainable development for the UK.
What is sustainable development?
Why does it matter to the UK?
Jonathon Porritt (Chairman of the Commission)
and other commissioners will be in the UK throughout the Summit,
and are available to answer these questions. They are eager to
demonstrate how the high level discussions in Johannesburg are
relevant to many of the social and environmental challenges we
are facing in the UK.
Some key themes arising from the Summit that
have a direct impact upon people in this country:
— the link between social exclusion
and environmental degradation in the poorest areas of the UK;
— how sustainable tourism can help
invigorate our countryside in the aftermath of the foot and mouth
outbreak;
— how sustainable development projects
are helping to regenerate areas throughout the UK;
— the opportunity for a dramatic leap
forward in the way we generate and use our energy in the UK; and
— is the Summit bad news for British
business?
The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC)
has particular expertise in these areas, and Jonathon Porritt
or other commissioners (including those based in UK regions) are
available for comment or interview during the Summit period.
28 August 2002 News Release
Hot air or wind of change?
As talks continue in Johannesburg, the UK has
a chance to lead on clean, efficient use of energy, but the talk
must become action and ridge some glaring policy gaps says the
Sustainable Development Commission.
UK energy strategy has been under review since
2001, with the Government's delayed Energy White Paper now due
towards the end of this year.
"It is vital we grasp the nettle NOW"
emphasises Jonathon Porritt, Chair of the Commission. "The
world must turn away from burning away our fossil fuel reserves,
with all the drastic consequences this will cause an exacerbating
climate change, and usher in a new area for renewable energy.
We in the UK must demonstrate that cleaner, more efficient technologies
work and share this experience and expertise with the developing
world to help reduce global carbon emissions".
"It is now apparent that the British UK
nuclear industry is now not just unsustainable but financially
bankrupt. The arguments for both the UK and beyond are clear.
In terms of both environmental and financial risk, a unified strategy
embracing energy efficiency, combined heat and power (CHP) and
renewables confidently outcompetes the traditional fossil fuel
and nuclear generated energy mix (as confirmed by the Government's
Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) Energy Review February 2002).
Its about time the old nag that is the UK nuclear industry, with
it's legacy of waste and prohibitively expensive decommissioning
costs, was finally put out to pasture. The Government's refusal
to bail-out British Energy in its current financial crisis is
perhaps instructive in this regard".
"Far too many institutional and market
barriers remain to hinder the development of renewables in the
UK. Most worryingly, the lack of long term carbon reduction targets
(such as the recommended strategy of a 60% reduction in carbon
dioxide emissions by 2050 put forward by the Royal Commission
on Environmental Pollution) is reinforcing the inertia of current
policy mindsets and taking away any sense of urgency. Only bold,
clear, ambitious targets for the medium and long term will ensure
that the policy aim of establishing a low carbon economy will
be met."
"We are in real danger of missing the boat
here" says Porritt, "There should be a big debate going
on around the supply and demand of energy, now and in the future.
If, as the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott says we are to
build tens of thousands of new homes to meet housing needs—surely
these should be as energy efficient as possible? How will these
new towns and developments be planned and laid out, will they
encourage less car use, or use less energy than developments do
today? There is a real opportunity to demonstrate leadership here."
"If the government has sustainable development
at the heart of it's agenda and policies, then why are such obvious
questions failing to be asked, let alone answered?"
NOTES TO
EDITORS:
— At the World Summit on Sustainable
Development today delegates debated energy generation and climate
change. This is an issue at the very core of the summit: how billions
of people can be lifted from poverty, without the accompanying
environmental damage.
— Bob Watson, Chief Scientist from
the World Bank, said at Johannesburg today that "We must
put in place a policy framework that will stimulate renewable
energy".
— The UK has set targets in the short
term to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, (aiming
to have 10% of the UK's energy needs met from renewable sources
and achieving a 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2010—and
increasing efficiency by another 20% by 2020), yet these alone
will not create the necessary drive to establish a true low carbon
energy system in the UK.
In an International Energy Agency (IEA) press
conference sponsored by the UK delegation, the Executive Director
Robert Priddle said the proposed European Commission target of
15% of global energy supply from renewable sources by 2010 was
"clearly impossible". The target was accused of being
"meaningless" by a spokesperson from WWF (Worldwide
Fund for Nature) as it included controversial large scale hydro-electric
(HEP) dam projects and firewood—which together already meet
12% of world energy needs. Whereas other renewables like solar,
wind and geothermal make up only 2% of world energy needs. WWF
would prefer a more modest 10% renewables target that excluded
HEP and firewood.
30 August 2002 News Release
"Sustainable Tourism: Home and Away"
As sustainable global tourism is discussed
at the World Summit for Sustainable Development today, the Sustainable
Development Commission calls on the government to prioritise sustainable
tourism here in the UK.
"The discussions in Johannesburg are
just as relevant to the UK domestic tourism industry as it struggles
with the aftermath of the foot and mouth outbreak", says
Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission.
"Sustainable tourism in the UK would focus
upon local economies and livelihoods, concentrating on protecting
our `green and pleasant land' as a vital resource for tourism
rather than allowing perverse planning and inappropriate new development
to ruin it.
"During this International Year of EcoTourism,
the UK tourism industry needs a concentrated boost, following
the loss of our rural tourism industry in the wake of the foot
and mouth outbreak" says Porritt.
This approach should be welcomed by British
domestic travellers, as a recent report on English sustainable
tourism demonstrated. 63% of consumers stated that a well managed
environment was an important factor in choosing the destination
of their holiday in the UK, while over 70% think that their UK
holidays should benefit local people.
"We welcome the Sustainable Tourism initiative
being committed to the Summit, and applaud the UK government's
leadership on this project from the Foreign and Commonwealth office
and the Department for International Development.
But this initiative should be as relevant to
the Department for Culture Media and Sport as it struggles to
encourage sustainable tourism right here in the UK.
We hear lots of fine words about sustainable
tourism here in the UK, but when you look at what's actually happening
(in DCMS, through the tourism authorities, and in most English
regions), progress is incredibly slow. This is still an industry
that works for the most part on the equivalent of `stack `em high
and sell `em cheap', without much thought for the environmental,
human and social assets on which the industry totally depends
for its long term prosperity.
"DCMS really has to get on top of this,
and drive forward a properly funded strategy for sustainable tourism
in the UK. We hope that the focus upon sustainable tourism at
the World Summit for Sustainable Development will translate into
a strong commitment to changing our approach to travel—at
home as well as away."
NOTES:
— The report by the English Tourism
Council "Visitor Attitudes to Sustainable Tourism" is
available at http://www.wisegrowth.org.uk.
— Further details of the International
Year of EcoTourism are available from the World Tourism Organisation
at http://www.wprid-tourism.org.
2 September 2002 News Release
Prime Minister makes the right noises at World
Summit
The Prime Minister's World Summit speeches (in
Mozambique and Johannesburg) were welcomed today by Jonathon Porritt,
Chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission.
"After a week of downbeat negotiations in
Johannesburg, it's very encouraging to hear such a ringing endorsement
from the Prime Minister of the critical importance of sustainable
development—simultaneously addressing the problems of poverty,
education and health in developing countries, and the host of
global environmental problems that the world as a whole now confronts.
The Commission is wholly supportive of the robust
line that the Prime Minister has taken on climate change. In a
way that defies belief, let alone science, the combined forces
of the United States of America and OPEC are still trying to persuade
the world that climate change is not a problem. It is. And as
the Prime Minister makes very clear, the Kyoto Protocol is both
an irreplaceable foundation to global efforts to address climate
change, and an inadequate one. We will indeed have to go a great
deal further—here in the UK as much as anywhere else.
His full frontal attack on the US position on
climate change is very welcome. It is already clear that the US
delegation has come to Johannesburg with one sole purpose: to
block or water down all international processes on the global
environment or poverty alleviation, including setting targets
to promote renewable energy globally and improved sanitation in
developing countries. Such mean-minded intransigent unilateralism
on the part of the world's richest and most powerful nation really
does make one ask who today poses the greatest threat to the long
term security of humankind.
The Prime Minister has demonstrated in his speeches
the kind of leadership that delegates at Johannesburg have been
looking for, and has shown how powerful a concept sustainable
development can be in addressing today's most pressing global
challenges.
These specific measures announced today (including
a doubling of funding for the biodiversity grants programme under
the Darwin Initiative, support for UK firms investing in renewable
energy schemes in developing countries, the London Principles
to promote more sustainable investment practices around the world,
and commitments to persuade G8 to make more of a priority of sustainable
development), are also welcome.
These speeches are, of course, only words. To
match them, the Prime Minister will not only need to inspire his
fellow world leaders, but settle down to the task of converting
them into reality here in the UK, where we still have a very long
way to go. That will be the acid test of Tony Blair's personal
vision and commitment long after the speeches have faded from
people's memory."
3 September 2002 News Release
World Summit risks excluding the poor from
basic human rights
The UK Sustainable Development Commission is
urging national leaders at the World Summit to afford the world's
poorest people, in every country from the UK to South Africa,
the right to a safe and healthy environment.
Going right to the wire, some delegations in
Johannesburg are threatening to remove the reference to "environmental
justice" (linking poverty, environment and human rights)
from the Summit's final implementation plan.
While the UK and the EU recognise the importance
of a direct reference to environmental justice, the USA and G77
countries appear to be blocking its inclusion in the final text.
"Environmental justice is at the heart
of sustainable development and it must be included in the final
paper", says Maria Adebowale, a member of the Sustainable
Development Commission and part of the UK delegation to the Summit.
"Research shows that environmental degradation
has a disproportionate impact on the poor, both in the UK and
abroad. Environmental concerns are not the exclusive right of
the wealthy. Poorer people also have the right to a safe, clean
and healthy environment".
The Sustainable Development Commission is convinced
that the Summit's final declaration must include an explicit reference
to environmental justice as a concept, as well as recognising
three crucial human rights:
— the right to access to information
about environmental dangers;
— the right to access to the decision-making
processes which affect one's environment; and
— the right to participate in such
decision-making processes.
"The SDC agrees that environmental concerns
should not be prioritised over economic development or fighting
poverty. Rather, environmental, social and economic development
must go hand in hand if we are to make real progress. This is
at the heart of environmental justice: addressing environmental
issues as a key step towards economic development and improving
quality of life for all", says Adebowale.
Environmental justice is a universal concern
across the world, and is no less important in "developed"
countries.
The links between poverty and poor environments
are only too clear here in the UK:
— of the 11,400 tonnes of carcinogenic
chemicals emitted into the air from large UK factories in 1999,
82% was from factories located in the most deprived 20% of local
authority wards[1];
— in the UK, children from poorer families
are five times more likely to be knocked down by a vehicle than
children from wealthier social groups[2];
— an analysis of city centre areas
clearly maps areas experiencing high levels of death from respiratory
disease onto those with highest pollution, and the highest levels
of poverty[3];
— 4.5 million households live in fuel
poverty in the UK, and 20% of population suffers from food poverty[4];
— residents of the poorest communities
in the UK prioritise environmental problems such as air pollution,
transport and graffiti alongside and over some social concerns[5];
and
— the most deprived communities in
England have nearly four times the proportion of ethnic minority
residents compared with the rest of England. Ethnic minority groups
are more likely than the rest of the population to live in poor
areas, be unemployed, have low incomes, live in poor housing,
have poor health, and be the victims of crime[6].
The Sustainable Development Commission applauds
Environment Minister Michael Meacher's pledge to make environmental
justice a priority for the UK. Equally, Scotland's First Minister
Jack McConnell's promise to put environmental justice at the heart
of his policies is welcomed.
Speaking on the final day of the negotiations
in Johannesburg, Adebowale concludes: "It is now time for
the British Prime Minister to make the same commitment, and for
the UK to lead the world towards a Johannesburg Declaration with
environmental justice at its heart".
NOTES TO
EDITORS:
Maria is the founding Director of the new non-governmental
organisation, Capacity, working on community participation, poverty
environment and human right issues at local, national and international
levels. She is a Commissioner of the UK Sustainable Development
Commission and a member of the Advisory Committee on Consumer
Products and the Environment. Maria has Masters in Public International
Law and has worked on UK, European and International environment
and community programmes. She is a senior consultant at a Centre
for Strategy and Communication, a trustee of the Black Environment
Network, and a Visiting Fellow of South Bank University. Maria
is the former Director of the Environmental Law Foundation and
is the author of numerous articles on environment law, sustainable
development issues and human rights. The Sustainable Development
Commission (SDC) is the Government's independent sustainable development
advisor, reporting to Tony Blair and the devolved administration
leaders. www.sd—commission.gov.uk.
3 September 2002 News Release
From Johannesburg to the Future of Rural Britain
Where Now for UK Farming?
Given the lack of action on agriculture at the
Johannesburg Summit, Margaret Beckett must now seize the opportunity
to set agriculture and food supply on a truly sustainable path
without further delay. The Curry Report on the future of farming
and food, set in the context of the mid-term review of the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP), has provided a once-in-a-decade opportunity
to make sustainable development a reality in this critical economic
sector.
According to Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of
the Sustainable Development Commission, "this is a vital
policy area, affecting the lives of all UK citizens, a well as
a key sector of the UK economy. As is now almost universally acknowledged,
current farming practices are seriously unsustainable—economically,
socially and environmentally. And the problem is that the taxpayer
is encouraging unsustainable production through current farm subsidies—here
and in other countries."
Unfortunately, the World Summit on Sustainable
Development has done nothing to accelerate the phase-out of European
farm subsidies, despite condemnation from Africa and elsewhere.
The Summit implementation plan takes us no further than the Doha
conclusions of November 2001, which committed governments to negotiations
with a view to phasing out all forms of export subsidies.
Porritt believes that "the Summit has achieved
nothing of any significance or materiality on agriculture. Perverse
subsidies lead to wasteful overproduction in Europe and harm farmers
and their families in the developing world. European farm subsidies
need urgent reform".
The Sustainable Development Commission agrees
with the EU perspective that farmers provide vital benefits in
terms of ensuring the prosperity of rural areas and boosting local
economies. The Commission also agrees that farmers cannot protect
the environment, maintain high standards of animal welfare and
deliver affordable food without financial help.
"Market intervention needs to encourage
rather than detract from sustainable agriculture. Farmers must
be rewarded not for producing surpluses, but for protecting the
environment, revitalising rural communities, raising standards
on animal welfare and restoring biodiversity," says Porritt.
A seminar organised today by the Sustainable
Development Commission explored some of the practical implications
of putting sustainability at the heart of the food supply chain.
The following recommendations emerged for those in DEFRA currently
drafting the White Paper on sustainable agriculture:
1. The Department must be crystal clear
in defining what it means by sustainable agriculture and sustainable
food production, as there is still enormous confusion amongst
farmers as well as food processors and retailers.
2. As well as focussing on new measures
to help protect the environment, the White Paper must take equal
account of the importance of supporting local production for local
markets, making links between local consumers and local producers.
3. Government health policy should focus
on achieving a healthy population by addressing the availability
of nutritious food for everyone. The NHS could set a lead through
what they offer patients in hospitals.
4. Large scale purchasers of food, including
government departments and local authorities should provide a
lead in supplying healthy food, produced in ways that respect
sustainable development objectives. Procurement policy is going
to be a vital element is securing more sustainable agricultural
practices, but this has played little part as yet in DEFRA's deliberations
on the White Paper.
5. Through their approach to corporate social
responsibility all companies buying food and commodities should
make sure that they incorporate sustainable development requirements
as part of their policies and practices. The Government can help
by encouraging clear checklists and good practice in the business
world.
6. More thought needs to be given to ensuring
that energy consumption is reduced throughout the food chain—especially
where food and food products are transported by air when there
are feasible sources of more local production. Farming can also
help to lock up carbon in soils and woodlands—and deliver
alternatives to fossil fuel.
Government policy for education should ensure
that children learn about sustainable food production, and see
it demonstrated through school meals and snacks. School governing
bodies should be encouraged to take a lead.
5 September 2002 News Release
European Local Government
We can and must lead on sustainability
Sustainable Development Commissioner and
Deputy Mayor of London, Nicky Gavron, has called for local governments
across Europe to unite and lead on action for sustainability.
Delivering European local government's closing
message to world leaders at the Summit, Ms Gavron said that Europe
had both the capacity and the moral obligation to lead on sustainable
development. "Europe, with its huge investment muscle is
in a position to incubate clear technologies and to lead sustainable
development worldwide. There can be no excuse. Europe is highly
profligate in its resource use-it consumes far more than its fair
share. It has a duty to deliver concrete action on sustainability,
not just to itself, but to the rest of the world".
Gavron wants to spotlight local government which
she believes is, "critical to delivering national targets,
and uniquely able to maximise opportunities and innovate at the
local level". Gavron wants to see high-level agreements at
the Summit related to local government empowerment.
Gavron identifies three factors for improving
delivery, "Firstly, many local governments need strengthening
through greater financial autonomy. Secondly, we must continue
to transform local government, mainstreaming the interrelationship
between economic, social and environmental responsibility into
all policy development and implementation—in every department,
in every action".
"Most importantly, we must involve people:
we must engage with them in participative democracy", insists
Gavron. "As politicians we have to be willing to share power
and give communities and individuals freedom to make a difference.
As political leaders, we must better empower our citizens to achieve
sustainable development."
The Commissioner believes that tackling poverty
in any form is a prerequisite of sustainable development and sees
tackling relative poverty in Europe as axiomatic to its future.
Citing London as an example, she said, "we are one of the
world's leading financial centres, but shamefully, 43% of London's
children live in households with less than half national average
income: that is our poverty line" says Gavron. The experience
is common to many European cities who are watching the gap between
rich and poor widen as their economies grow.
The Commissioner believes European cities acting
together can make an impact globally and accelerate the slow pace
of change. She cites the Cities for Climate Change project where
over 500 councils have signed up to targets to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions, many going beyond national targets. "Imagine the
message it would send to world leaders if the world's largest
cities were to agree to radical carbon dioxide reduction targets",
she said.
Gavron concludes, "European Local Government
must seize the powers it already has and it must seek more powers
and autonomy in close collaboration with national government.
Local governments across Europe must all pull together to push
each other on."
NOTES TO
EDITORS
1. A member of the UK Sustainable Development
Commission, Nicky Gavron is Deputy Mayor of London and the Mayor's
cabinet adviser on spatial development and strategic planning.
She is responsible for shaping the long-term direction of London
through the London Plan. Since 2000 she has represented Enfield
and Haringey on the Greater London Assembly and was a Haringey
Councillor for 16 years. Nicky Gavron is an observer on the Transport
for London Board and sits on the London Advisory Committee of
English Heritage and the Inter-regional Forum. She is also the
Mayor's lead on the first Children and Young Person's Strategy
for London.
2. Nicky Gavron was speaking at the closing
plenary of the Local Government Session at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development.
10 September 2000 News Release
Honour 9/11 by implementing Johannesburg
Speaking at a local government conference on
Wednesday 11 September, Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of the Sustainable
Development Commission, will urge people to keep the lessons of
the Johannesburg Summit at the front of their minds even as they
pay tribute to the victims of last year's atrocities in New York.
"The single most important message to emerge
from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg
is that the long-term security of the world depends first and
foremost on resolving today's most pressing environmental and
social issues in the world's poorest countries."
It's just one week since the Summit ended, but
the depressing sound of the Johannesburg agenda being slid onto
the backburner can already be heard. Given the looming crisis
over Iraq, that may seem reasonable, yet for 10 days, politicians
and business leaders filled our newspapers and broadcast media
with eloquent statements as to the overarching importance of sustainable
development.
"The key characteristic of today's world
is its interdependence. Your problem becomes my problem. One country's
war becomes another country's asylum seekers. One country's pollution
becomes another country's floods." (Prime Minister, Tony
Blair)
"Poverty, environmental degradation and
despair are destroyers—of people, of societies, of nations.
This unholy trinity can destabilise countries, even entire regions."
(Secretary of State, Colin Powell)
"A global human society characterised by
islands of wealth surrounded by a sea of poverty is unsustainable."
(President Thabo Mbeki)
"If the Summit fails, it will be measured
in death, misery and degradation for millions of kids because
this world that could organise a force against terrorism couldn't
provide them with clean water." (Deputy Prime Minister, John
Prescott)
There's an even more important connection between
terrorism and sustainable development: in many parts of the Middle
East, the kind of "nothing to lose" despair brought
on by chronic poverty, a degraded environment and the oppression
of human rights, provides an all too fertile seed bed for the
cultivators or terror.
Whilst many European leaders now understand
the impact of such linkages, the US Administration remains intransigently
hostile to looking gat anything other than the symptoms of such
problems—as demonstrated so often and so destructively in
the positions it took in Johannesburg.
Any "war on terror" cannot be pursued
in isolation. Securing genuinely sustainable development is a
precondition of achieving peace and security. By the same token
applying basic standards of social and environmental justice to
decisions in the global economy is not some fad for fans of fair
trade: it's one of the best insurance policies we have against
extremist fanatics.
Perhaps the most fitting tribute we can pay
to the victims of 9/11 is to rededicate our own lives to eliminating
the kind of economic, cultural and religious divides of which
terrorism so hungrily feeds.
1 October 2002 News Release
Seize the Moment!
"We know the problems . . . and we know the
solution—sustainable development. The issue is the political
will." (Tony Blair, Johannesburg 2 September 2002)
At its first meeting since the World Summit
on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the Sustainable Development
Commission urged the Prime Minister to demonstrate the kind of
"political will" he rightly prioritised in his Johannesburg
speech.
Opinions vary as to the success of the Johannesburg
Summit. For Margaret Beckett, it was "truly remarkable".
For most NGOs, it was deeply disappointing, a "once-in-a-decade
opportunity needlessly squandered". But what matters now
in the UK is how purposefully the Government takes up the Johannesburg
challenge; how, in the words of Margaret Beckett, it intends to
"put sustainable development at the heart of everything we
do."
Addressing the post-Johannesburg debate, Jonathon
Porritt, Chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission, made
the following comments:
"The sustainable Development Commission
warmly endorses the intent to move sustainable development from
the fringes to the centre of Government. That means a step change
in the way things have been done until now. DEFRA must pursue
its responsibility for promoting sustainable development across
Government with renewed vigour; there needs to be much clearer,
positive engagement from all Government departments, and a strong
lead from the top, both within Government and in reaching out
to the general public. Responsibility for this should not lie
with some junior "green minister", but with each Secretary
of State answering personally to the Prime Minister for the contribution
his or her department is making to the Government's sustainable
development strategy. The Prime Minister should take a personal
lead in securing that level of support from his Cabinet colleagues."
As a "first take" on specific actions
that should be prioritised in key departments, Jonathon Porritt
will be writing to the Prime Minister and Secretaries of State
with the following urgent recommendations.
Number 10
1. The Prime Minister should require all
Government departments to develop their own sustainable development
strategies within a year, setting KPIs and targets to determine
the contribution they will make to the Government's overarching
sustainable development strategy, with an annual report from each
department feeding into the Government's overall Quality of Life
report.
2. The Prime Minister should find an appropriate
opportunity to reinforce here in the UK the hard-hitting message
he made in his "Mozambique speech" on the way to the
Johannesburg Summit, and reinforce this by strengthening the role
of sustainable development in all cross-cutting policy-making
and impact appraisal processes.
3. The next Quality of Life report should
encapsulate the Government's post-Johannesburg strategy, including
a much deeper engagement with stakeholders in key sectors such
as business, local government and civil society. It should be
launched by the Prime Minister, and a full day set aside for debate
in the House of Commons.
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)
1. The ODPM should ensure that sustainable
development is written in at the heart of both the Planning Bill
(as the principal purpose for land use planning), and as one of
the overarching objectives of the new, directly-elected Regional
Assemblies.
2. The Deputy Prime Minister should announce
as soon as possible an action plan to ensure that every single
new home to be built in the next decade (and every existing home
that is being refurbished) should meet the highest standards of
sustainable design and construction, including more effective
measures to meet the demand for affordable (and sustainable) housing
in both urban and rural areas.
3. The Deputy Prime Minister should use
the Urban Summit in November to secure widespread support for
the principles and practice of sustainable regeneration and environmental
justice, with particular regard to reinforcing the role of the
regional bodies in England, Local Authorities, Local Strategic
partnerships and communities.
HM Treasury
1. Treasury should review and strengthen
its commitment to using fiscal instruments to advance key sustainable
development goals, particularly in the fields of energy, transport,
waste minimisation and recycling. The Pre-Budget Report in November
should be used to give the strongest possible affirmation of Treasury's
intent to use environmental taxes more effectively.
2. Treasury should work with DTI and DEFRA
to finalise without further delay a formal Resource Productivity
Strategy (building on the recent PIU report on Resource Productivity
and the forthcoming report on Waste).
3. Treasury should publish the outcome of
the sustainable development appraisals it carried out on bids
made by each department in the recent Spending Review, together
with a detailed analysis of the contribution it believes specific
Public Service Agreements in each department will make to the
Government's sustainable development strategy.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA)
1. DEFRA should take a far more active role
promoting sustainable development across the whole of Government,
and should take the lead itself by ensuring that its Sustainable
Agriculture Strategy will move agriculture and rural land use
onto a genuinely sustainable footing without further delay.
2. In view of the Prime Minister's robust
defence of the Kyoto Protocol in Johannesburg, DEFRA should revisit
the UK Climate Change Programme as soon as the Sustainable Development
Commission has completed its audit of the Programme's adequacy
in meeting our Kyoto targets. The Government should indicate its
support for the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's
aspirational target of a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions, by 2050,
as soon as possible.
3. DEFRA needs to make a much more urgent
priority of the Government's own procurement policies and processes
by using the report from the Sustainable Procurement Group (set
up by Margaret Beckett) to reinforce "best practice"
where it already exists and actively to pursue recalcitrant departments
that have failed to implement existing guidance.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
1. DTI should use the forthcoming Energy
White Paper to set more demanding targets for renewables, energy
efficiency and CHP (including a new target to cut energy use in
buildings by 50% by 2010), together with concrete proposals as
to how those targets will be met. A Sustainable Energy Agency
should be established to deliver on these targets and on our overall
climate change programme. It needs to be both transparent and
consistent in comparing different options, and should resist the
temptation to commit any more public money to the nuclear industry.
2. DTI should review its guidance to Regional
Development Agencies as they revise their Economic Strategies
with a view to securing a much more substantial contribution from
RDAs (on climate change, waste management, sustainable technologies
and so on) towards the Government's sustainable development strategy.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department
for International Development (DfiD)
1. Recognising the positive and creative
role which FCO and DfiD have played at Johannesburg, these Department
should vigorously reinforce their efforts to make sure that the
UK and all other donor countries fulfil their pledges to increase
support for the south, and that implementation programmes in the
key areas of water and sanitation, energy, health, agriculture
and biodiversity are promptly put in place.
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office should work with Ministers
across Government to mandate a formal duty for all major regulatory
bodies actively to promote sustainable development.
Department of Health
1. The Department of Health should revise
the guidance it has given on the new hospital and care centres
construction programme to ensure that every new building has sustainable
development at the heart of its design, construction and future
management.
2. As the largest single purchaser of food
in the UK, the NHS should be a key agent of change in the Government's
Sustainable Agriculture Strategy, and use its purchasing power
to promote sustainable production systems, local sourcing and
improved nutrition.
Department for Transport
1. The Department for Transport should accept
without further equivocation the urgent need to tax aviation fuel,
and together with Treasury lobby urgently within the EU to secure
agreement on phasing in an EU-wide climate change levy on aviation
as soon as possible. If it is committed to ensuring "that
the long-term development of aviation is sustainable", it
must look first to a demand management strategy before authorising
any expansion in airport capacity.
2. Ministers need to look again at the opportunities
for improving public transport services at the local level, substantially
increasing grant support for quality schemes which enable people
to walk, cycle and use public transport as "first choice"
options rather than "second best".
Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
1. DfES should support the participation
in the Eco-schools programme of all primary and secondary schools
in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by making it a Performance
Indicator for action on sustainable development and citizenship,
similar to the way it is being used in schools in Scotland.
2. Ministers should ensure that the new
Skills Development Agency moves urgently to exercise its sustainable
development remit as the new Sector Skills Councils are being
set up.
3. DfES should urgently review and strengthen
the role of "Education for sustainable development"
in the core curriculum for all secondary schools in England, Wales
and Northern Ireland.
4. DfES should urgently review its guidance
on school meals with a view to ensuring higher standards of nutrition
in all schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Schools
must become models of sustainable development in practice.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
1. DCMS should convene the relevant tourism
bodies (nationally, devolved and in the regions) and private sector
interests to develop a nationwide, properly funded UK equivalent
of the Sustainable Tourism Initiative launched by the UK Government
in Johannesburg to help developing countries.
2. DCMS should be monitoring the industry
more rigorously to ensure that the National Minimum Wage is enforced
in all sectors and for all age groups.
Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence must rapidly abandon
its continuing opposition to offshore wind farms, and negotiate
positively to expedite planning permission for the next generation
of off-shore wind farms.
Home Office
The Home Office should actively promote "the
Johannesburg Principles in the Rule of Law and Sustainable Development",
and work closely with the Lord Chief Justice to deepen the commitment
to the Principles of the entire legal profession.
Devolved Administrations
The Chairman of the Sustainable Development
Commission will be writing separately to the respective First
Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is recognised
that the Devolved administrations are at different stages of development
and that they will also need to take account of and act on many
of the issues raised above.
February 2003
1 Friends of the Earth (2001) Pollution and poverty-Breaking
the Link. London, Friends of the Earth. Back
2
Roberts and Power (1996). Does child injury mortality vary
by social class? British Medical Journal, 313: 714-786. Back
3
Stevenson et al (1998) Examining the inequality and
inequity of car ownership and the effects of pollution and health
outcomes such as respiratory disease, Epidemiology, Vol 9
4 529. Back
4
DETR (2001b) The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy, DETR 2001. Back
5
Social Exclusion Unit Bringing Britain together: a national
strategy for neighbourhood renewal Social Exclusion Unit,
September 1998. Back
6
Social Exclusion Unit Bringing Britain together: a national
strategy for neighbourhood renewal Social Exclusion Unit,
September 1998. Back
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