Friday, May 16, 2008

Cracking the Peanuts
or the Coconuts?

By: Leida Rijnhout, Flemish Platform on Sustainable Development – VODO/ ANPED, and Maria Arce, (Practical Action, UK)

Although we are afraid to discuss the current framework, we will eventually have to do so, because our economic system delivers more problems than solutions. It is difficult to address questions that challenge the core of our lifestyle. Maybe that’s why we limit ourselves to the smaller ones and place all our energy in “end of pipe” solutions, instead of focusing on the root causes of these problems. We are challenged to crack the coconuts, although cracking the peanuts is easier. It is “peanuts” to promote sustainable production and consumption, but it is more difficult to change unsustainable production and consumption patterns.

How Do You Measure Success?

In order to change the economic system, we need to crack the dogma of eternal economic growth. There are limits to growth and we have already passed them. The world economy causes an overshoot of 25%. We are practically eating our planet. Our fixation with economic growth is one of the driving forces for unsustainable development and social inequity. Governments seem to have only one purpose in mind: improving their GDPs. But their main goal should be to ensure the wellbeing of their populations. GDP is a ‘speedometer’ of the economy, and merely indicates how quickly we are earning money. What we need are altimeters that show how far away we are from a sustainable economy based on solidarity. For instance, if we would use the Ecological Footprint as a measuring rod, we would see that for a sustainable economy, our countries’ uses of materials, space and fossil energy would have to be reduced by roughly two thirds. Furthermore, this reduction would have to be realised within a foreseeable timeframe if we want to avoid a future in which 30 to 40 years from now, two Earths will be necessary to maintain our level of material prosperity.

Welfare in the South

There is no doubt that in order to guarantee poor peoples’ subsistence, a growth of welfare must take place in the economies of the South. This will lead to an inevitable increase in the use of natural resources and energy. A meaningful redistribution of wealth and use of natural resources is urgent. This means that Northern economies will have to transform the use of resources while ensuring the welfare of their citizens. A fair share for every citizen and country has to be recognised and be the main goal in every international, national, and regional policy.

There is space for growth but only within the framework of real sustainability and equity, more justice, higher quality of life and increased human happiness in the North and South.

Transformation that will lead to a new economic and social framework implies a fundamental change in thinking, policymaking and attitudes. This radical change of our economies, in a relatively short period of time, should substantially impact the scope and form of production, trading and consumption patterns. We need to start questioning the existing system to make the challenge of changing the unsustainable production and consumption patterns more real and accessible. This is a big nut to crack, but certainly worth the energy.

We urge a radical change of our economies, a change that in a relatively short period of time will substantially influence the scope and form of our production and trading systems, wealth generation and consumption patterns. This change is only possible if supported by a broad alliance of social forces. We invite everyone, in particular political parties, trade unions, businesses, academia, civil society and social movements, to be part of this alliance and take responsibility for the transition towards a truly sustainable economy based on solidarity.