Anne Meikle
January 2012
Why are WWF backing a strong Sustainable Development Bill?
It is 20 years since the first Earth Summit in Rio produced international agreements to deliver sustainable development. This was when the global community, Governments, national and regional, local authorities, trade unions and voluntary bodies came to an unprecedented global agreement to seek better ways for people to live. It sought to ensure we had a long term future, that there would be enough resources for us all and that people lived fairer lives through eradicating poverty and decreasing disparities in standards of living.
These were key ideas that started to change the way the world operates and is organised. So eradicating poverty, increasing equity and safeguarding the environment were key areas for focus.
I would also argue that it set Wales on the course which now, 20 years later, in the year of another Earth Summit, has led to the Welsh government intending to enshrine those principles in law, through a Sustainable Development bill, potentially binding themselves and the public sector to adopting sustainable development as a central organising principle.
Why is this important?
Many people think of sustainable development as an environmental issue so WWF’s support might not surprise you. But sustainable development is not just about the environment. It is also about integrated delivery of social, economic and environmental objectives. Therefore, it’s about sustainable resource use, equity, and wellbeing.
WWF’s mission is to ‘build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature’.
For most of the 50 years since we began, we have been seeking sustainable livelihoods for people, to prevent the degradation of their environment. Sustainable development is therefore a concept at the heart of what we strive for. Everyone who cares about the natural world knows this must be so.
The environment is a necessary provider of our ability to live life on earth. We depend on it for the essentials of life – water, food, air. Business depends on it for raw materials, energy, waste services, soil fertility, pollination etc etc etc.
Without healthy, functioning ecosystems and other biophysical processes, we humans cannot have healthy, prosperous lives in the long term. The Sustainable Development Commission made this clear in 2006 in their report I will if You will when they stated ‘living within ecological limits is the non- negotiable basis for our social and economic development’.
I make no apology for stating that one of the prime functions of this Act must be to ensure an environmentally sustainable future for us – not just in Wales but in a global sense.
Wales was one of the first industrialised countries and has historically pumped out large quantities of greenhouse gases – and we continue to do so. Way back at Rio in 1992, one of the principles UK signed up to was ‘The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.’
Here in Wales we are very divorced from many of the environmental consequences of our lifestyles. Unlike in many developing countries it is not we, personally, who go out and chop down trees for firewood and forests to grow palm oil. So it can be hard for us to recognise the importance of how we live and work here in Wales in a global context.
It is also easy for us to forget that our economy fundamentally depends on natural resources and a stable climate, and the value of the services nature provides is frequently underestimated or ignored in decision making. Policies that promote a shift away from fossil fuels will reduce the Welsh economy’s exposure to volatile energy prices and climate change impacts. We can address current economic challenges by building a greener economy with secure jobs, clean energy and protection for our natural environment.
Economic Development
Humanity faces a profound dilemma. On the one hand, economic growth is central to the functioning of the current economic system. Employment, company profits, and government revenue for public services are all dependent on growth. Yet the kind of economic growth we have now is not sustainable: it depends on energy from fossil fuels that threatens our stable climate and it damages the natural systems that provide the conditions for life that enable humans and nature to thrive.
The EU Council[1] in its submission to this year’s Earth summit states, “that the world is facing multiple crises and challenges that are mutually interlinked and that Rio+20 in this broader context provides a unique opportunity to rethink the current perception of growth and consumption, inclusion and how we utilize our limited resources, thereby safeguarding the needs of future generations,”
Fundamentally, our ability to live on this planet depends on healthy functioning ecosystems. The health and resilience of our environment is being increasingly challenged by our over- exploitation of our natural resources and the consequences of climate change. Demand continues to grow and resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Such scarcity is not only an environmental problem, but also one for the economy and society. For example, analysts suggest we have already passed peak oil production, are approaching peak gas, and peak lithium and phosphorus production are also on the horizon.
Social Justice
Poor people are the most vulnerable to resource scarcity and environmental shocks, as we can already see in Wales with increasing numbers falling into fuel poverty.
However, the problem is increasing. On a global scale, by 2007, we were already using 1.5 planet’s worth of resources (as measured by ecological footprint). However, the situation in Wales is worse. In 2006, we were already using more than our fair share. If everyone lived the way we do then we would need nearly 2.5 planets. The world cannot provide sufficient resources for everyone to live like this in the long term. Therefore, as developing countries become more affluent and aspire to our lifestyles, there is an impossible conundrum.
This was recognised as far back as the 1987, in the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future[i]. This stated ’… physical sustainability cannot be secured unless development policies pay attention to such considerations as changes in access to resources and in the distribution of costs and benefits ....physical sustainability implies a concern for social equity between generations, a concern that must logically be extended to equity within each generation.’
Perhaps it is the prominence of these concerns that explains the major role played in the Rio Earth Summit, not just by international development NGOs but also by Trade Unions. This has led to concern as to how goods are produced, in an ethical sense. Are your shoes or carpets produced by child or slave labour? That’s a sustainable development issue too, just as much as degrading our oceans by overfishing or pollution.
As Mahatma Ghandi said ‘Earth provides enough for every man’s needs but not enough for every man’s greed’. To ensure access to a reasonable standard of living for all, we need to consider a fairer access to resources. This is the aspiration that WWF enshrined in the idea of a One Planet Wales[ii] - for the people of Wales to lead happy, healthy, prosperous lives within their fair share of the earth’s resources.
The Government recognises this and explicitly sets out in One Wales One Planet to ensure that Wales lives within in its fair share of the earth’s resources. Environmental sustainability and social justice are interdependent. Issues such as fuel poverty, flood insurance, access to services and jobs are all related to managing our environment and resources sustainably.
The transition to a low carbon, resource efficient One Planet economy is therefore crucial for business, for jobs, for people and the environment. Supporting this transition is a vital role for Government, local authorities and business in Wales.
How can legislation achieve all this?
It is in this context that we believe that the Welsh Government must take this opportunity to strengthen its duty to sustainable development and to define this clearly, as per the One Wales, One Planet definition. This must include explicit recognition of ‘living within environmental limits’ and enshrining respect for planetary boundaries.
If they were to be truly inspiring they would consider enshrining a Welsh charter of environmental rights in legislation. The National Assembly could guarantee the right to live in a healthy environment.
If this Act is passed through the Assembly with cross party support then we will be providing certainty for the future. Business and others can be reasonably sure that this is a long term commitment and will be pursued regardless of the political make up of government. That is what investors always ask for and should be a valuable selling point for the Welsh economy.
After all, sustainable development is about long term change and consequences. It needs long term consistent commitment. Such certainty and continuity, beyond political cycles, can be achieved if there continues to be cross- party support.
An Ipsos Mori survey in 2011 found that 72% of Welsh adults agree that sustainable development should play a central part in decision making in Wales. All Welsh political parties should be emboldened by such support and ensure they live up to the hopes of Welsh people.
Make no mistake, this legislation should have profound consequences in Wales. It must change the culture of the public sector and its decision making processes. It must affect how our money is spent and, most of all, it must lead to different outcomes. If it does not then it is a waste of legislative time and energy.
It must change the way decisions are made so they are considerate of future generations, global impacts and local communities. With a stronger sustainable development duty, we would expect to minimise future negative impacts and inherited liabilities for future decision makers. For example, planning permissions on flood plains increase the liabilities on future local authorities, the Environment Agency and possibly the developers for increased flood defence costs, as climate change affects the severity of storms and rainfall. They can also increase insurance costs for homeowners and occupiers. These are the types of long term costs and liabilities which should be factored into decisions.
This clarity on what is required, if accompanied by good statutory guidance and a Commissioner, with real independence and powers, can change outcomes. This must not become a set of meaningless processes. This needs a paradigm shift in public service delivery and leadership from all politicians to ensure the public understand and support the changes, even though there will be hard choices ahead.
Some good examples of long term thinking are already in place on health and education, where more resources are going into preventing ill health, through, for example diet, and in early years provision. However, isolated good practice will not change the nature of Wales and its society.
Time to deliver
If the damage we are doing is widely recognised, if we know of the urgency of tackling climate change and the costs of delay[iii], if we know that this requires bold leadership and foresight rather than incrementalism, if we know that the current economic system is crumbling fiscally, and we know that the world’s resources must be shared more equitably to prevent drastic consequences for the disadvantaged from rising prices, water shortages and impacts of climate change, then why have we not acted?
The recent independent review of Welsh Government performance on embedding SD across government[iv] drew the same conclusion that WWF Cymru drew in 2011 and that the Wales Audit Office drew in 2010. That is, the Welsh Government is making good progress in many departments and policy areas but it is not consistent. Government staff are still not clear what sustainable development means and there is no clear plan for delivery.
It is very likely that this situation will be repeated across much of the public sector, despite 20 years having passed since the first local authority signed up to Agenda 21.
A Sustainable Development Act can make it a priority for everyone in the public sector. To be effective it will have to specify what this means, through a clear definition of sustainable development and of what this means as a central organising principle.
To be truly effective there must be consequences for non-compliance and public bodies must be open to challenge on this. Therefore it is important that Wales Audit office, Assembly committees and new governance structures at local authority level consider the interests of future generations in their scrutiny.
Strengthen the duty
To do this it must strengthen the current duty by requiring Welsh Ministers to exercise their functions in order to achieve sustainable development. At the moment, Ministers need only write down how they propose to promote sustainable development. There is no requirement to actually deliver sustainable development. We have been fortunate this far that subsequent governments have taken this fairly seriously and gone further than legally required. However, the reviews show this is not consistently the case. If the Assembly, hopefully through cross party consensus, strengthens the duty as we suggest, then there should be more consistency across government and more certainty for civil servants, businesses and others as to the long term intentions of all future Welsh governments.