A Framework for Sustainable Development for Ireland (FSDI)

international | environment | press release Wednesday January 25, 2012 21:57 by dubheasa ni braden dubheasanibraden at gmail dot com

(Subjects) UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012, World Economic Forum, Davos 2012.

(Subjects) UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012, World Economic Forum, Davos 2012.
(which can be viewed live here http://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annu...-2012 )
And also the World Social Forum which will also move to the Earth Summit (+20) http://www.economist.com/blogs/theworldin2012/2012/01/w...m-too

Ireland and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, invited many different stakeholders and key speakers to participate in a seminar on the future aims of sustainability within Ireland and the European Union towards the forthcoming Earth Summit (+20) in Rio, de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012.

Whilst its purpose which includes public participation to place submissions before it to make a draft framework can be viewed as follows. http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/Misce...n.pdf

The seminar held at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin on the 24.01.2012 invited the following key speakers. (its outline via the Dept of the Environment can be accessed below)

http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/SustainableDevelop...land/

1. Professor Frank Convery PHD MS MAGRSC Earth Institute University College Dublin.
2. Mr. Pat Macken Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government
3. Dr. Ingeborg Niestroy Secretary General of the network of European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils
4. Mr. Oisin Coughlan Director, Friends of the Earth, representing the Environmental Pillar
5. Mr. Terence O’Rourke Managing Partner KPMG
6. Mr. David O’Connor Manager, Fingal Co.Co
7. Mr. Sean Molloy, Strategy Director, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland.

Opening the conference 1. Professor Frank Convery and 2. Mr Pat Macken explained that the World is moving to a sustainable future via sustainable development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This statement follows the world view for the 21st century following the Earth Charter declaration in 1987 which wishes to create a “sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace”. The three pillars of sustainability, society, economy and environment.

3. Dr. Ingeborg Niestroy, outlines the necessity for sustainability councils (Comhar) http://www.comharsdc.ie/
Which in Ireland has now moved to Nesc http://www.nesc.ie/ to implement sustainable development into every area of life and government in Ireland. Analyzing models which are to become “bottom up” thanks to the Aarhus convention (still un-ratified in Ireland) and local agenda 21 of course will remain a two way flow of power. Sideways inroads through white and green papers into legislation and regions will change current methods of local and national government. Local Government has perhaps been too close to its population, and its population too close to its TD’s (government representatives) preventing sustainable development from being implemented, either by vested interests preferring other types of development or older ideas, or by local corruption.

Fiscal policy should be closely monitored, as in other EU states, and local development should move from brown to green development, with sustainable development moving towards an efficient resource economy and “wellbeing” as a sustainable development advance, which highlights the separation from environmental economics to ecological economics, within new forms of government, with the issue of, governance of governance (Metagovernance, Trans governance) as a science amidst growing concerns for lack of democracy and economic democracy in the economic pillar of sustainability. Sustaining sustainability requires horizontal, and up and down honest participatory democracy with action research and participatory education beyond our current experiences.

4. Mr. Oisin Coughlan, Sustainable development should in a hierarchical sense be moved to the Taoiseach and away from the department of Environment, Community and Local Government, and perhaps sustainable development could be a symbol like the Irish Harp is already or instead of the ancient symbol. Ireland in the 1950’s moved from Eamonn De Valera (ism) to Whitakerism, (ESRI) and is now moving towards Whitakerism but with sustainable development. The dail should move to have an annual debate on sustainable development especially as past initiatives and papers have no post analysis. This is especially true for indicators of how sustainable development is progressing, for example, if we want to see how well we are performing on climate change, we could measure how much greenhouse gas emissions Ireland emits per person each year. Since CORE had published indicator information in 1997, it had no actual post analysis.

5. Mr. Terence O’Rourke feels TAX should move from labour taxation to a more consumption based taxation system. Corporate Business leaders in Ireland and worldwide must take note of climate change and new ways of doing business in the new reality of world economics.

6. Mr. David O’Connor suggested that small towns in Ireland and worldwide will collapse unless they become more sustainable and local democracy needs to become pro-active and better able to represent local people whilst also becoming directly relevant to ministers and the Taoiseach. Leap and Seap projects, transition towns and green cluster urban planning will become a reality.

7. Mr. Sean Molloy highlights the success of Glanbia, which prides itself as a sustainable green model company. Standards in sustainability and green ecological environmental standards have moved from Irish older standards, to European and into International global standards (ISO), reflecting the growing globalization of business.

The Open Forum in the meeting

The audience expressed concerns that economic growth as GDP growth simply is not sustainable, and that Whitakerism which has failed in Ireland, moving to Whitakerism (ESRI TK Whitaker) with sustainable development is possibly a contradiction in terms and has led to debt and poverty within Ireland.(but what is the required alternative ?)

Davos World Economic Forum

A debate on the future change of capitalism “To Serve Society Better, Capitalism Needs a Redesign” a debater suggests that Countries need to be audited by Accountants like KMPG, and this would be a solution to debt and austerity problems in the world. The Occupy movement which is camped outside suggests that Central banks needs to be audited, nationalised and in public control.

Klaus Swabb the executive chairman of the world economic forum in Davos suggest capitalism needs New models of business and finance and solutions for alleviating poverty, we need longer term visions and build rebond and rebind. Europe will not tolerate being divided, and needs that new vision and new models for Europe. Constructive new solutions are needed, chronic fiscal inbalances have caused havoc, and countries have allowed public debt to grow with a serious debt crisis threatening the world’s economic currencies.

Angela Merkel says Europe will move away from a Nuclear Europe energy as Fukushima in Japan has shown. New models and big re-think are required, what lessons can we glean from the big economic crisis. The OECD has said that protectionism (moving to a small nation anti-globalisation world) is on the rise in the world and it was a glaring lack of regulation which brought the banking crisis into being causing sovereign and public debt. Deficits have accrued over the years, despite economic indicators albeit indicators which are not matched by regulation. Portugal, Ireland Spain Greece need competitiveness, not only austerity measures however but also structural reforms which provide jobs. Europe has 23 million companies and 23 million unemployed. The Stability and Growth pact is in danger and a lack of trust between, business, citizens and government is a problem, as is the belief that profit is incompatible with sustainable development.

Overall there seems too be a lack of ideas, purpose and hope within the world population, which although recognises that Sustainability is imperative but that also the world is no longer willing to wait for government too act and business and people who are unemployed want to simply have a revolution and take over the world to provide the economic pillar of sustainability with an immediate solution regardless of class interests.

The World Social Forum 24-29 January 2012

Porto Alegre has a different approach to the same principles, see its charter from 2002. Making 2sustainability and wellbeing meet with it and for it to supercede are the challenges for the future
http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/main.php?id_menu=4...age=2