Creating Sustainability at Rio+20: Ideas for the next ten years
By Kyle Empringham, written for the United Nations Environment Programme.
As the theme for this blog series is “If you ruled the world? – Action Plans for A Sustainable Century”, I feel the need to note that I wouldn’t want to rule the world. Most of the huge environmental issues that plague our Earth are local in scale. Although we certainly do need to have global discussions about water resources, climate change, and other impacts, decisions will need to be made on smaller scales in order to remediate these problems. Remediation of our environmental issues requires a shift in the way we think about sustainability. Being in an academic setting, I recognize sustainability as having three parts – social, economic, and ecological. These three disciplines should intertwine and work together to achieve an ideal definition of ‘sustainability’. As you may have guessed, this picture isn’t perfect. All too often, we see decisions being made that don’t reflect a sustainable practice. Societies often place greater value on economics, and don’t take a close look at the social or ecological impacts of their decisions. That view is rather weak, as it doesn’t recognize our dependence on each aspect of sustainability to foster fruitful and successful communities.
Economics often has a greater importance in decision-making than social or environmental factors. In order to create a sustainable century that our planet desperately needs, decisions should place equal importance on all three pillars of sustainability – something a little more like this:
Decision-making should look more like this, incorporating economical, environmental, and social factors equally. We know that the ecology of our planet provides ecosystem services that are worth trillions of dollars and provide us with the tools we need to survive.
We know that we need a stable economy to provide goods and services to people. And we certainly know that social welfare (i.e., happy and comfortable living) is of the utmost importance. It’s obvious to me that these three ideas go hand-in-hand, and they need to be taken into account when planning for the next decade. When decision-makers begin negotiations at Rio +20, the to-be-created action plans should assist countries in transitioning to ideas of sustainability that are equal – just like the second picture.
Fortunately, it seems like the conference will be heading on the right track, as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on the agenda for discussion. These 17 goals range from biodiversity and clean energy, to basic health and green cities. By making this general framework, countries can understand how to make improvements to their personalized action plan for a sustainable century. It is important to note that not every solution to our global environmental problems will come from these SGDs. In fact, I believe a suite of ideas needs to be implemented at various levels (e.g., government, businesses, and consumers) in order to tackle our global issues. So, I also believe that we will additionally need other practices – and carbon accounting might be that answer. Just like how we count our finances or calories, making us aware of the amount of carbon we consume is key to understanding how we affect our environment, and in turn, our economy and our society. No matter what happens, I encourage you all to follow the conference proceedings up to and during the main event on June 20-22. These discussions are integral to determining what the next decade will look like for your environment, your economy, and your future.
Kyle has been selected as one of the top 10 environmental bloggers by the United Nations Environment Programme and am vying for votes to win a trip to Brazil for World Environment Day. The contest closes April 30. Click here to vote for him.
