tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/sustainable-development-3126/articlesSustainable development – The Conversation2024-02-26T13:39:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172532024-02-26T13:39:14Z2024-02-26T13:39:14ZWhat ancient farmers can really teach us about adapting to climate change – and how political power influences success or failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576820/original/file-20240220-22-4dkk2z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C15%2C5160%2C3391&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A farmer paddles to his fields on an artificial island among canals, part of an ancient Aztec system known as chinampas, in 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ae1d688be96145e38f16681367992bca?ext=true">AP Photo /Marco Ugarte</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In dozens of archaeological discoveries around the world, from the once-successful reservoirs and canals of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101166">Angkor Wat</a> in Cambodia to the deserted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209615120">Viking colonies</a> of Greenland, new evidence paints pictures of civilizations struggling with unforeseen climate changes and the reality that their farming practices had become unsustainable.</p>
<p>Among these discoveries are also success stories, where ancient farming practices helped civilizations survive the hard times. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209615120">Zuni farmers</a> in the southwestern United States made it through long stretches of extremely low rainfall between A.D. 1200 and 1400 by embracing small-scale, decentralized irrigation systems. <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520343757/the-scarcity-slot">Farmers in Ghana</a> coped with severe droughts from 1450 to 1650 by planting indigenous African grains, like drought-tolerant pearl millet. </p>
<p>Ancient practices like these are gaining new interest today. As countries face unprecedented heat waves, storms and melting glaciers, some farmers and international development organizations are reaching deep into the agricultural archives to revive these ancient solutions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A canal running through a mountain side with snowy peaks in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576825/original/file-20240220-18-dywyn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An ancient irrigation method used by the Moors involving water channels is being revisited in Spain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/water-channel-for-irrigation-known-as-an-acequia-sierra-news-photo/525482563?adppopup=true">Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Drought-stricken farmers in Spain have reclaimed medieval <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/world/europe/spain-drought-acequias.html">Moorish irrigation</a> technology. International companies hungry for carbon offsets have paid big money for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ancient-farming-practice-draws-cash-from-carbon-credits-a803aee1">biochar made using pre-Columbian</a> Amazonian production techniques. Texas ranchers have turned to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/29/rio-grande-valley-farmers-study-ancient-technique-cover-cropping-climate-crisis">ancient cover cropping</a> methods to buffer against unpredictable weather patterns.</p>
<p>But grasping for ancient technologies and techniques without paying attention to historical context misses one of the most important lessons ancient farmers can reveal: Agricultural sustainability is as much about power and sovereignty as it is about soil, water and crops.</p>
<p>I’m an archaeologist who studies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-019-09138-5">agricultural sustainability</a> in the past. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1914211117">Discoveries in recent years</a> have shown how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.022">the human past</a> is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145941">full of people</a> who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03190-2">dealt with climate change</a> in both sustainable and unsustainable ways. Archaeologists are finding that ancient sustainability was tethered closely to politics. However, these dynamics are often forgotten in discussions of sustainability today.</p>
<h2>Maya milpa farming: Forest access is essential</h2>
<p>In the tropical lowlands of Mexico and Central America, Indigenous Maya farmers have been practicing milpa agriculture for thousands of years. Milpa farmers adapted to drought by gently steering forest ecology through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/120344">controlled burns</a> and careful <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gVyTDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Maya+milpa+forest+garden&ots=1ozG6sVYyg&sig=KZNXSDWX2ZR_Em7qGY37CqdeIG0#v=onepage&q=Maya%20milpa%20forest%20garden&f=false">woodland conservation</a>.</p>
<p>The knowledge of milpa farming empowered many <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cX7SEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=chan+Cynthia+robin&ots=yErzYIWFsz&sig=vNrtsYW7IC0X2UnieHxor4Hiiiw#v=onepage&q=chan%20Cynthia%20robin&f=false">rural farmers</a> to navigate climate changes during the notorious <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1114838109">Maya Collapse</a> – two centuries of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419133112">political disintegration and urban depopulation</a> between A.D. 800 to 1000. Importantly, later Maya political leaders worked with farmers to keep this flexibility. Their light-handed approach is still legible in the artifacts and settlement patterns of <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Political_Geography_of_the_Yucatan_M.html?id=52BlAAAAMAAJ">post-Collapse farming communities</a> and preserved in the flexible <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00134-8">tribute schedules</a> for Maya farmers documented by 16th century Spanish monks.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/96rIEVptFwo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Maya farmers and researchers explain milpa farming.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520395879/rooting-in-a-useless-land">my book</a>, “Rooting in a Useless Land: Ancient Farmers, Celebrity Chefs, and Environmental Justice in Yucatán,” I trace the deep history of the Maya milpa. Using archaeology, I show how ancient farmers adapted milpa agriculture in response to centuries of drought and political upheaval.</p>
<p>Modern Maya milpa practices began drawing public attention a few years ago as <a href="https://www.cimmyt.org/news/helping-farming-families-thrive-while-fighting-climate-change-in-mexico/">international development organizations</a> partnered with celebrity chefs, like <a href="https://www.cimmyt.org/es/noticias/el-restaurante-noma-llega-a-tulum-y-utilizara-maices-sustentables-de-yaxunah-2/">Noma’s René Redzepi</a>, and embraced the concept. </p>
<p>However, these groups condemned the traditional milpa practice of burning new areas of forest as unsustainable. They instead promoted a “no-burn” version to grow certified <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/dining/noma-tulum-pete-wells-mexico-rene-redzepi.html">organic maize for high-end restaurants</a>. Their no-burn version of milpa relies on fertilizers to grow maize in a fixed location, rather than using controlled fire ecology to manage soil fertility across vast forests.</p>
<p>The result restricted the traditional practices Maya farmers have used for centuries. It also fed into a modern political threat to traditional Maya milpa farming: land grabs. </p>
<p>Traditional milpa agriculture requires a lot of forested land, since farmers need to relocate their fields every couple of years. But that need for forest is at odds with hotel companies, industrial cattle ranches and green energy developers who want cheap land and see Maya milpa forest management practices as inefficient. No-burn milpa eases this conflict by locking maize agriculture into one small space indefinitely, instead of spreading it out through the forest over generations. But it also changes tradition. </p>
<p>Maya milpa farmers are now fighting to practice their ancient agricultural techniques, not because they’ve forgotten or lost those techniques, but because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12520">neocolonial</a> land <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2016.1215305">privatization policies</a> actively undermine farmers’ ability to manage woodlands as their ancestors did. </p>
<p>Milpa farmers are increasingly left to either adopt a rebranded version of their heritage or quit farming all together – as many have done.</p>
<h2>Mexico’s fragile artificial islands: Threats from development</h2>
<p>When I look to the work of other archaeologists investigating ancient agricultural practices, I see these same entanglements of power and sustainability.</p>
<p>In central Mexico, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24931564?casa_token=Mnjg8lpMxdEAAAAA:xtiTRUNdJVlBTAR3voVS3IszoyqO-VSb8MSohjUlxpYEdNtVKu0QPefJMjiSyvobBMO94-zcDj2E6DOXbNoUl1d-MNm3UO6TDKVsG4JLVxpWkHtFIg">chinampas</a> are ancient systems of artificial islands and canals. They have enabled farmers to cultivate food in wetlands for centuries. </p>
<p>The continuing existence of chinampas is a legacy of deep ecological knowledge and a resource enabling communities to feed themselves.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571516/original/file-20240125-21-sq17hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Chinampa techniques use canals and artificial islands. This photo shows one in 1912.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinampas.jpg">Karl Weule, Leitfaden der Voelkerkunde via Wikimedia</a></span>
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</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A well-maintained farming island among canals near Mexico City." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571517/original/file-20240125-19-ug1yul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The chinampas of Xochimilco are a UNESCO world heritage site today, but development expanding from Mexico City has put their survival in danger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergiosf/12546098673">Sergei Saint via Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>But archaeology has revealed that generations of sustainable chinampa management could be overturned almost overnight. That happened when the expansionist Aztec Empire decided to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00101164">re-engineer Lake Xaltocan</a> for salt production in the 14th century and rendered its chinampas unusable.</p>
<p>Today, the future of chinampa agriculture hinges on a pocket of protected fields <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/07/in-mexico-city-the-pandemic-revived-aztec-era-island-farms">stewarded by local farmers</a> in the marshy outskirts of Mexico City. These fields are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.018">now at risk</a> as demand for housing drives informal settlements into the chinampa zone.</p>
<h2>Andean raised fields: A story of labor exploitation</h2>
<p>Traditional Andean agriculture in South America incorporates a diverse range of ancient cultivation techniques. One in particular has a complicated history of attracting revival efforts.</p>
<p>In the 1980s, government agencies, <a href="https://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/30-3/Raised.pdf">archaeologists</a> and development organizations spent a fortune trying to persuade Andean farmers to <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315810997/inventing-indigenous-knowledge-lynn-swartley">revive raised field farming</a>. Ancient raised fields had been found around Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and Bolivia. These groups became convinced that this relic technology could curb hunger in the Andes by enabling back-to-back potato harvests with no need for fallowing.</p>
<p>But Andean farmers had no connection to the labor-intensive raised fields. The practice had been abandoned even before the rise of Inca civilization in the 13th century. The effort to revive ancient raised field agriculture collapsed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A view from a plane shows the outlines where fields were raised." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571518/original/file-20240125-21-4uobzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An aerial photograph shows pre-Colombian raised fields in Bolivia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/861590">Umberto Lombardo, University of Bern, Switzerland</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Since then, more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2005.03.002">archaeological discoveries</a> around Lake Titicaca have suggested that ancient farmers were forced to work the raised fields <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2004.08.001">by the expansionist Tiwanaku empire</a> during its peak between AD 500 and 1100. Far from the politically neutral narrative promoted by development organizations, the raised fields were not there to help farmers feed themselves. They were a technology for exploiting labor and extracting surplus crops from ancient Andean farmers.</p>
<h2>Respecting ancient practices’ histories</h2>
<p>Reclaiming <a href="https://www.soulfirefarm.org/media/farming-while-black/">ancestral farming</a> techniques can be a <a href="https://www.icollectiveinc.org/">step toward sustainable food systems</a>, especially when descendant communities lead their reclamation. The world can, and I think should, reach back to recover agricultural practices from our collective past.</p>
<p>But we can’t pretend that those practices are apolitical.</p>
<p>The Maya milpa farmers who continue to practice controlled burns in defiance of land privatizers understand the value of ancient techniques and the threat posed by political power. So do the Mexican chinampa farmers working to restore local food to disenfranchised urban communities. And so do the Andean farmers refusing to participate in once-exploitive raised field rehabilitation projects. </p>
<p>Depending on how they are used, ancient agricultural practices can either reinforce social inequalities or create more equitable food systems. Ancient practices aren’t inherently good – it takes a deeper commitment to just and equitable food systems to make them sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chelsea Fisher has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the Fulbright-Hays Program.</span></em></p>Agricultural sustainability is as much about power and sovereignty as it is about soil, water and crops.Chelsea Fisher, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2212812024-01-18T16:49:08Z2024-01-18T16:49:08ZMigrants can be a transformative force for sustainable development<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570079/original/file-20240118-30-qftv6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3401%2C2341&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A study found migrants were more likely to volunteer in their communities than native residents.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-multiracial-senior-women-having-fun-2350443587">Sabrina Bracher/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amsterdammers are proud of their city. But it turns out that people who have moved there from other parts of the world are just as concerned about keeping the place green and pleasant. We surveyed Amsterdam residents and <a href="https://www.projectmisty.org/post/is-covid-19-shifting-attitudes-towards-sustainability-a-case-study-from-amsterdam">found</a>, among other things, that recent migrants were just as likely to recycle as those born and raised in the city.</p>
<p>Similarly, research has shown that internal and international migrants living in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102790">Accra, Ghana</a> were more likely to take part in activities that enriched the local environment, like creating community gardens to grow food, than people who were born there.</p>
<p>Can the movement of people (including those displaced by climate change) aid sustainable solutions to environmental problems? Our research suggests that it can. Migration is good for society in circumstances when it reduces inequality, enhances overall wellbeing, and does not place greater environmental burdens on the regions where people move to or from.</p>
<h2>Migrant flows and their consequences</h2>
<p>Sustainable development means enhancing wellbeing in ways that fairly meet the needs of present and future generations. A new set of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/topic/554">studies</a> has shown that new policies are needed to manage migration in a way that ensures such sustainability, while also minimising involuntary displacement due to conflict or disasters.</p>
<p>Poorly managed migration can deepen inequality and increase environmental damage. One <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2206192119">study</a> looked at Florida in the US, where sea-level rise is expected to lead to outward migration – with younger, economically active adults moving first. Such migration would put pressure on housing and water and contribute to congestion and pollution in the destination cities, while leaving the coastal areas with ageing populations and a lower tax base.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cars driving down a flooded road in the US." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570077/original/file-20240118-21-clste5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570077/original/file-20240118-21-clste5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570077/original/file-20240118-21-clste5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570077/original/file-20240118-21-clste5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570077/original/file-20240118-21-clste5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570077/original/file-20240118-21-clste5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570077/original/file-20240118-21-clste5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Climate change is expected to spur the significant movement of people this century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/car-driving-through-water-on-flooded-2209624689">Ajax9/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In Niue, Papua New Guinea and the Marshall Islands, a recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2206190120">study</a> showed that people’s sense of belonging and their capacity to maintain a sense of unity, even when many of them are emigrating, affected the long-term stability of remaining populations. Current patterns of emigration by working-age adults from these areas reduce pressure on natural resources in the origin islands, while the emigrant populations in Australia and New Zealand still support and promote their communities in the island nations. </p>
<p>In this way, population levels in the islands are kept stable and people there are less directly dependent on fishing and farming, as their income and ability to invest locally is increased through remittances. According to <a href="https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/851570-sergio-jarillo-de-la-torre">Sergio Jarillo</a> and <a href="https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/8871-jon-barnett">Jon Barnett</a> from the University of Melbourne, it is this sense of belonging that “binds the people who live in and migrate from these places into a collective commitment to the continuity” of these island communities, which are threatened by climate change.</p>
<p>It is crucial to consider the impact of migration in the places people leave behind, as well as their new homes. At a global level, migrants remain rare (most people live close to where they were born) and international migrants even rarer, with those displaced by conflict or disaster rarer still. Most media attention on environmental migration to date has concerned people fleeing conflict or disasters, and so-called climate refugees.</p>
<p>Most migrants fleeing conflict or disaster end up concentrated in a few places relatively near to where they have fled from, creating significant new demands on water, food and waste services. As such, it is the clustering of people in one place, not migration itself, that poses the greatest challenges for sustainability.</p>
<p>The world’s largest refugee camps, home to those displaced because of conflict and disaster, are regularly in places that <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2206189120">are vulnerable to climate change</a>. The Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, for example, have regularly been made uninhabitable by flooding in recent years.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of people stood amid waterlogged soil with tin houses in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570074/original/file-20240118-25-jshnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570074/original/file-20240118-25-jshnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570074/original/file-20240118-25-jshnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570074/original/file-20240118-25-jshnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570074/original/file-20240118-25-jshnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570074/original/file-20240118-25-jshnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570074/original/file-20240118-25-jshnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Fleeing persecution in Myanmar, over 700,000 Rohingya people have sought shelter in Bangladesh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/coxs-bazar-january-26-2018-muslim-1034950948">Hafizie Shabudin/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Addressing migration and the environment together</h2>
<p>Sustainability and migration are often managed separately. Yet we need new policies that manage migration in the interests of people and the planet, now and into the future. This includes focusing on the largest reason people move, known as “regular” migration: to find new economic and life opportunities. </p>
<p>For regular migration flows, planning is needed in destination areas to meet the increased demand for housing, employment and services. When new populations are integrated into communities with urban planning, the cities tend to work better for them and they feel more invested in their new homes. Such measures have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1758-5899.12855">been shown</a> to create a positive environment for growth and reduce social tensions. </p>
<p>City planners in Chattogram in Bangladesh, for example, listened to migrants through forums and discussion groups, and have begun to amend their infrastructure plans to improve the city’s informal settlements and provide clean water. </p>
<p>Governments also need to minimise the displacement of people as a result of environmental degradation and climate change in the first place, which amounts to a fundamental breach of their rights to a secure life.</p>
<p>Ultimately, we need to reset how migration is discussed in society – away from simple tropes that paint it as a threat, towards using evidence of its consequences for economies, environments and social cohesion. </p>
<p>Realising the potential of migration to enhance sustainability requires seeing the benefits and costs to society in the round – not putting migration and sustainability <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2206184120">in separate boxes working against each other</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221281/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sonja Fransen received funding from the Dutch Scientific Council (NWO) for the MISTY project, and an institutional Comprehensive Innovation grant from UNU-MERIT.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Adger receives funding from International Development Research Centre, Canada; Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, UK; National Institute for Health Research, UK; Economic and Social Research Council, UK; and the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ricardo Safra de Campos receives funding from International Development Research Centre, Canada; Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, UK; National Institute for Health Research, UK; Economic and Social Research Council, UK; and the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>William C. Clark receives funding from Italy's Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea through its gift to Harvard University’s Sustainability Science Program.
</span></em></p>Migration is considered an inevitable effect of climate change. It could also be part of the solution.Sonja Fransen, Senior Researcher, Migration and Development, Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT), United Nations UniversityNeil Adger, Professor of Human Geography, University of ExeterRicardo Safra de Campos, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of ExeterWilliam C. Clark, Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183342024-01-17T21:08:01Z2024-01-17T21:08:01ZAnnual rankings don’t always tell us what it’s really like to live in a city<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568293/original/file-20240108-27-dzn9ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C2751%2C1553&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rankings often focus on economic and developmental factors that overlook sustainability. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year various indices are released which rank the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-most-livable-cities-canada-2023/">livability</a>, <a href="https://www.arcadis.com/en/knowledge-hub/perspectives/global/sustainable-cities-index">sustainability</a>, <a href="https://innovation-cities.com/worlds-most-innovative-cities-2022-2023-city-rankings/26453/">innovation</a> and general quality of life in cities around the world. Canada’s major cities like Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto <a href="https://www.cicnews.com/2023/12/3-canadian-cities-ranked-among-the-most-liveable-in-the-world-1241721.html">frequently</a> top <a href="https://www.cicnews.com/2023/12/3-canadian-cities-ranked-among-the-most-liveable-in-the-world-1241721.html">these lists</a>, despite being some of the <a href="https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-ranks-3rd-most-expensive-city-in-north-america-5490661">most costly</a> places to live. </p>
<p><em>Maclean’s</em> magazine’s ranking of “<a href="https://macleans.ca/canadas-best-communities-in-2021-full-ranking/">Canada’s best communities</a>” evaluated 415 communities according to various indicators, including economic prosperity, housing affordability, taxation, sustainable mobility, public safety as well as access to health services and cultural and leisure activities.</p>
<p>Quality of life indicators and indices can be useful for comparing cities or when deciding where to live. However, if cities base their policymaking on such metrics, it could lead to unsustainable development.</p>
<h2>Differences between sustainability and quality of life</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106879">recent study</a> highlighted the commonly used environmental and socio-economic criteria, using indicators such as green spaces, recycling, the use of public transport, unemployment and crime rates.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.espon.eu/programme/projects/espon-2020/applied-research/quality-of-life">international review</a> by the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion evaluated cities based on criteria like employment, housing, access to health care and safety. Indicators included, among others, the cost of living, household income and the quality of public services.</p>
<p>Many of the indicators in these rankings are used to measure both the sustainability and the quality of life in a city. This convergence can be explained by the <a href="https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/pathways-sustainable-cities">common basis of these two concepts</a>: they are essentially about how a city satisfies the essential needs of its residents, such as housing, transport, health, education and leisure.</p>
<p>The ability to meet these needs is closely linked to economic factors, which play a key role in assessing both the sustainability and quality of life of cities. These factors include income, wealth and cost of living.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An elderly couple walking in a park with a bicycle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Development aimed at improving city life can sometimes come at the expense of sustainability.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Despite these commonalities, they also present <a href="https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/81da68e3-f4cb-4b2c-a67b-506d41bd84e4/content">contradictions</a>. For example, initiatives aimed at improving city life, such as infrastructure expansion, can sometimes come at the expense of the environment, which goes against the principles of sustainable development.</p>
<p>Furthermore, an emphasis on sustainability does not necessarily guarantee improved living conditions. Indeed, sustainability may involve reducing the consumption of certain goods and services, reducing the size of housing to promote denser neighborhoods, or implementing taxes to reduce pollution. </p>
<p>These measures, although beneficial for the environment, can lower individual comfort and increase living costs, which affects the quality of life of residents.</p>
<h2>Traits of sustainable and livable cities</h2>
<p>We recently conducted a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275123004201">study aimed at answering the following question</a>: What are the characteristics of cities that perform better in terms of quality of life and sustainability?</p>
<p>To answer this question, we analyzed the similarities and differences between the factors underlying sustainability and quality of life rankings for 171 Canadian cities with more than 25,000 inhabitants.</p>
<p>Our results reveal a positive and statistically significant correlation between urban quality of life and sustainability indicators in Canadian cities. However, our findings also highlight important contradictions regarding sustainable living in the three main dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.</p>
<p>Wood Buffalo, Alta. ranked in the top 20 per cent for sustainability, mainly due to its high-income and educated population, despite its low environmental performances. However, it is in the bottom 20 per cent for quality of life due to high living costs and limited cultural amenities. </p>
<p>Kamloops, B.C. performed well in quality of life, thanks to affordability, strong education and health care, and cultural richness. Yet it falls in the bottom 20 per cent for sustainability because of waste, greening and energy management challenges.</p>
<p>Evaluations of quality of life are mainly based on economic dimensions and take into account indicators such as the unemployment rate and average income. Some indicators also concern the social dimension of sustainable development, including crime, housing affordability, health and the arts.</p>
<p>However, some fundamental social aspects of sustainable development, like wealth distribution and education, are not addressed directly.</p>
<p>The environmental dimension is also largely neglected, with the exception of sustainable mobility (for example, how many people use public transport). For instance, there were no direct measurements of greenhouse gas emissions, the quality of green spaces or the quality of a city’s water.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A busy city sidewalk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Quality of life indices can be useful for comparing cities, however, if cities base their policymaking on such metrics, it could lead to unsustainable development.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cities should put sustainability first</h2>
<p>These differences between quality of life and sustainable development are concerning for two main reasons. Firstly, because people might use these rankings when deciding where to live, it can make cities with high rankings but poor sustainability appear attractive. </p>
<p>Second, as cities generally seek to attract residents, they may be tempted to make decisions based on variables that increase their quality of life ranking to the detriment of sustainable development. </p>
<p>The most highly ranked cities are likely to maintain the status quo with regard to their development strategy in order to stay at the top of the list. Moreover, lower ranked cities are likely to mimic the urban conditions that characterize the most successful cities.</p>
<p>However, these objectives are not always compatible with urban sustainability, which takes into account broader environmental and collective concerns, such as preserving environmental quality and reducing pressure on natural resources and green spaces.</p>
<p>This means quality of life becomes unsustainable if it does not take into account environmental impacts such as waste management and car use. The same goes for how wealth is distributed. </p>
<p>Prioritizing sustainability, even if it means a lower quality of life ranking in the short term, ensures cities remain viable in the future. Integrating sustainability measures into public policies, such as improving public transportation and maintaining green spaces, is essential to meet current needs and anticipate future challenges, ensuring long-term well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218334/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Focusing on metrics that measure a city’s quality of life could be detrimental to its long-term sustainable development.Georges A. Tanguay, Full Professor, School of Management, Department of Urban Studies and Tourism, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Juste Rajaonson, Professor, School of Management, Department of Urban Studies and Tourism, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2157152023-10-26T13:35:39Z2023-10-26T13:35:39ZGlobal university rankings now include social impact: African universities are off to a strong start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554926/original/file-20231020-25-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities across Africa can drive prosperity through innovation.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Westend61</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>World university rankings are released towards the end of each year. Institutions globally scramble to see how they have fared. Have they risen or fallen? If so, by how much and in which rankings? Have they maintained their position in an <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230629104003226">increasingly competitive</a> global higher education landscape? </p>
<p>There have been some improvements in African universities’ performances. But the continent’s institutions still don’t feature prominently towards the top of the rankings. In the Times Higher Education <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2024/world-ranking">(THE) World University Rankings 2024</a>, for instance, South Africa’s University of Cape Town is top for the continent, at 167th place. It is followed by three other South African institutions: Stellenbosch University and the University of the Witwatersrand, which sit between 301 and 350, and the University of Johannesburg between 401 and 500. </p>
<p>The first sub-Saharan non-South African institution, Ghana’s University of Cape Coast, is in the group 601-800. Uganda’s Makerere University, placed between 801 and 1,000, is the top in east Africa.</p>
<p>The value, methodologies and implications of world university rankings are much <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03312-2">debated</a>. Several institutions, such as the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, have even withdrawn their participation from some <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en/news/why-uu-is-missing-in-the-the-ranking">rankings</a>. They are critical of the focus on competition and scores rather than on partnerships and open science.</p>
<p>We are especially interested in a recent addition to the rankings landscape: scoring for sustainability and positive societal impact. The <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/impactrankings">THE Impact Rankings</a>, for example, assess universities’ performance against the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a>. The <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/sustainability-rankings/2023">QS Sustainability ranking</a> includes environmental and social impact dimensions.</p>
<p>As academics working in the field of social innovation and sustainable development, we welcome this attention to impact and sustainability. Sustainable development is a critical concern for universities globally. It drives institutions’ research and innovation. It matters to students. It is central in teaching and learning. It also underpins universities’ wider role and activities in communities, societies and economies. </p>
<p>Responding to the challenge of sustainable development is an especially pressing concern for African universities. </p>
<h2>A mandate and a mission</h2>
<p>African universities work in conditions of significant need. Many African economies have grown rapidly in <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/africas-economic-growth-outpace-global-forecast-2023-2024-african-development-bank-biannual-report-58293">recent times</a>, but <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/africa-and-the-sustainable-development-goals-a-long-way-to-go/">sustainable development challenges</a> remain. These include poverty and inequalities in gender, health, education and opportunities. Conflict over resources and the effects of climate change are also major challenges. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/technology-and-sustainable-development-a-hamlet-in-rural-south-africa-shows-how-one-can-power-the-other-197355">Technology and sustainable development: a hamlet in rural South Africa shows how one can power the other</a>
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<p>Some African universities were established with the task of addressing these challenges, and to drive development and prosperity.</p>
<p>So it is very welcome that several African universities place well in some of these new impact rankings. Some are even world leaders in addressing various SDGs. </p>
<p>For example, South Africa’s University of Johannesburg ranks 46th in the THE Impact Rankings 2023. It is first globally for its <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230619224828695">work to address SDG 1 (No Poverty)</a>. It has achieved this through initiatives like its <a href="https://www.uj.ac.za/support-services/give-to-uj/support-the-students-and-residences/missing-middle-fund/">Missing Middle Fund</a>, which benefits over 60% of the university’s students. It also invests heavily in research centres, institutes and chairs that focus on poverty issues. It supports them to do research that has a direct impact on local communities and policy development.</p>
<p>Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), meanwhile, scores top for its contribution to <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230613111153424#:%7E:text=The%20Kwame%20Nkrumah%20University%20of,which%20focuses%20on%20quality%20education.">SDG 4 (Quality Education)</a>. The institution’s students benefit from excellent teaching, complemented by investments in up-to-date infrastructure, ICT and e-learning resources. It provides numerous scholarships and runs programmes like <a href="https://thebftonline.com/2023/05/24/stanbic-bank-fulfils-promise-to-knusts-sonsol-project/">Support One Needy Student with One Laptop</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-development-goals-are-in-reach-if-african-universities-work-together-47903">Sustainable development goals are in reach if African universities work together</a>
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<p>Another positive trend for African universities in impact rankings is that they are increasingly working together and with partners globally. For instance, Makerere University and the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cape Town are partners within the <a href="https://socialinnovationinhealth.org/">Social Innovation in Health Initiative</a>. This aims to advance social innovation in health (SDG3 - Good Health and Wellbeing) across the continent and other low- and middle-income countries. </p>
<p>These positive stories and growing examples of African leadership are worth celebrating. And even more may be possible.</p>
<h2>Filling the gaps</h2>
<p>Further research is needed to understand how African universities are working towards sustainable development and what more they can do. This might reveal ways to enhance existing work and share best practice. </p>
<p>Universities can make it possible to find solutions to sustainable development challenges. They generate knowledge and can influence policy making and practice. They can develop innovative solutions themselves. As major employers, procurers, and resource users they can have positive (and negative) effects through their operations.</p>
<p>Research on the roles of universities in their communities, including and beyond teaching and research, has focused on the global north. Universities in the global south (and particularly those in Africa) have often been overlooked. This relatively limited attention may reflect wider inequalities in global knowledge production, and negative perceptions of the work African universities do.</p>
<p>We want to address these gaps. So we’ve launched a new international, multi-institution and interdisciplinary research project. “<a href="https://wun.ac.uk/wun/research/view/african-universities-as-enablers-of-social-innovation-and-sustainable-development/">African universities as enablers of social innovation and sustainable development</a>” is funded by the <a href="https://wun.ac.uk/">Worldwide Universities Network</a>. It brings together academics from the universities of Cape Town, Sheffield, Ghana, Leeds, Pretoria and York, as well as Makerere University.</p>
<p>The project will run for the next 12 months. We will use a social innovation perspective to investigate how African universities are contributing to achieving the UN SDGs. We hope this project will build a community of scholars working on the topic in and outside Africa, and provide academic and practical insights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215715/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research will be pursued in collaboration with the WUN Global Higher Education and Research (GHEAR) network which also provided funding for the project and all authors.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Littlewood receives funding from: Worldwide Universities Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bob Doherty, Phyllis Awor, Ralph Hamann, and Teddy Ossei Kwakye do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Responding to societal challenges and promoting sustainable development is an especially pressing concern for African universities.Annika Surmeier, Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, University of Cape TownAlex Bignotti, Senior Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship, University of PretoriaBob Doherty, Professor of Marketing and Chair of Agrifood, University of YorkDavid Littlewood, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, University of SheffieldDiane Holt, Chair in Entrepreneurship, Leeds University Business School, University of LeedsPhyllis Awor, Lecturer in Public Health, Makerere UniversityRalph Hamann, Professor, University of Cape TownTeddy Ossei Kwakye, Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University of GhanaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2122172023-10-10T11:25:59Z2023-10-10T11:25:59ZBuilding on the greenbelt is central to solving the housing crisis – just look at how the edges of cities have changed<p>Amid <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/08/labour-keir-starmer-new-homes-target-green-belt">new targets</a> of 1.5m new <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67058848">homes</a> over five years, the Labour party has pledged to review the planning rules which dictate where housing in England can be built. The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/08/labour-keir-starmer-new-homes-target-green-belt">“a common-sense approach”</a> to deciding quite what land is worth protecting and what can sensibly be used to create more housing was crucial. </p>
<p>This may put Labour at odds with many Conservative politicians in the UK, who have long defended the greenbelt, the protected land that encircles the country’s largest cities, including London, Newcastle and Manchester. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’s latest long-term plans for housing <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/long-term-plan-for-housing-secretary-of-states-speech">prioritise</a> urban development of brownfield sites (abandoned or underutilised industrial land) over so-called greenbelt “erosion.”</p>
<p>The notion of “concreting over the countryside,” as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rishi-sunak-housing-plan-uk-michael-gove-b2380605.html">has put it</a>, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/19/is-it-time-to-rethink-the-green-belt">politically loaded</a>. Yet, elements of the Conservative party itself are beginning to see that this oversimplifies the issue. As former housing minister Brandon Lewis <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66998512">has said</a> at a fringe event at the Tory conference, the concept “needs to be reviewed and changed”.</p>
<p>It no longer makes sense to prioritise the city centre over its peripheries because quite what is in the city, and what is outside it, is no longer clear. Multiple factors have seen the city extend into a continuous periphery. These include uneven urbanisation and geo-engineered landscapes, changing working patterns and locations and the perceived conflation of nature with culture. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://counterintuitivetypologies.com/Peripheries-Peripherocene">research looks at</a> how to rethink the urban-nature divide. We have found that design that focuses on <a href="https://punctumbooks.com/titles/analogical-city/">urban peripheries</a> in socially diverse and sustainable ways <a href="https://www.park-books.com/en/product/thinking-design/115">can benefit residents</a>, combat climate change and tackle the housing crisis. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graphic showing suburban town planning." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Anthropocene has blurred the city’s boundaries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Wojewoda | Cameron McEwan</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The politics of ‘urban sprawl’</h2>
<p>In his long-term housing policy, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove has made the connection between urban planning, aesthetic standards and climate change. He argues against what he and <a href="https://lirias.kuleuven.be/1684573?limo=0">many before</a> him have termed “urban sprawl”. Instead, making the city centre more dense, he says, will “enhance economic efficiency, free up leisure time and also help with climate change”. </p>
<p>In city planning terms, <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_698#:%7E:text=Definition,a%20defined%20unit%20of%20area.">“density”</a> refers to the degree of human activity and occupation in a defined unit of urban space. It is, of course, an important measure. Our research shows, however, that what matters most is not the numbers of people and businesses in a city, but the quality of the space in which they operate. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Map of England's greenbelts" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">England’s greenbelts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26130819">Hellerick|Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Housing is an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/25/the-guardian-view-on-housebuilding-michael-goves-urban-visions-cant-erase-his-partys-record">inherently political issue</a>. <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/what_we_do/our_strategy_2022-2025">Shelter</a>, the housing charity, states that 17.5 million people are trapped by the housing emergency. According to the <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/the-housebuilding-crisis/">Centre for Cities</a> thinktank, Britain has a backlog of 4.3 million homes missing from the national housing stock. This analysis shows that it would take at least 50 years to fill this deficit, if the government’s current target to build 300,000 homes a year in England is met. And it won’t be: homes are being built at approximately half this rate.</p>
<p>However, in 2013, the economist Paul Cheshire <a href="https://theconversation.com/greenbelt-myth-is-the-driving-force-behind-housing-crisis-17802">wrote</a> that what he termed “the greenbelt myth” was, in fact, driving the housing crisis. “Contrary to popular perception,” he said, “less than 10% of England is developed. And of what is developed much less than half is ‘covered by concrete’.” </p>
<p>Instead, Cheshire proposed that there be selective building on what he termed “the least attractive and lowest amenity parts of greenbelts.” Not only are these areas close to cities where people want to live, but building on brownfield land in the greenbelt or repurposing derelict buildings might begin to alleviate the housing crisis, including problems of affordability, for generations to come.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graphic illustration of an interior." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Building reuse has great potential.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthias Guger|Mihael Vecchiet|Andreas Lechner, Studio Counterintuitive Typologies, TU Graz</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How urban peripheries can work for people and the environment</h2>
<p>To combat climate change and tackle the housing crisis, cities need to be allowed to expand with coherent planning – that includes good public transport, well-designed public spaces and high-quality housing. </p>
<p>In Italy, the post-war district of <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/867165/ad-classics-gallaratese-quarter-milan-aldo-rossi-carlo-aymonino">Gallaratese</a>, which lies 7km north-west of the centre of Milan, features medium-scale apartment blocks, good social amenities and high-quality, well-connected public transport. People living there have access to small parks and public gardens, places to sit and shop. </p>
<p>This affords the public realm a certain dignity that is often lacking in in Britain. People benefit from better infrastructure for commuting into the city centres – not just traffic lanes for cars, but metro, tram and train connections, with coherently designed outdoor public space. </p>
<p>In Austria, <a href="https://www.aspern-seestadt.at/en/about_us/organisation">Seestadt Aspern</a>, a newly developed extension of Vienna, has been characterised as a “city within a city.” It is compact, yet full of public spaces. The project is conceived with job creation, housing and metro-line extension as priorities. </p>
<p>Our research suggests introducing, to <a href="https://counterintuitivetypologies.com/Studios">periphery design</a>, the kind of buildings more associated with inner-city design. To date, housing in suburban planning in England has largely revolved around the detached single-family home. This ultra-low density building type uses lots of land and is firmly reliant on fossil-fuel heavy private transport. </p>
<p>Focusing instead on what we have called the urban villa might be an alternative. The urban villa aims for a synthesis between the city apartment and the single-family home. Think, a number of apartments in a freestanding house, no more than five storeys, surrounded by a garden. </p>
<p>Suburban planning that centred on this type of housing – which combines urban density with a connection to green space and the public realm – could create a denser, more attractive and, crucially, more sustainable alternative to the way city outskirts are currently planned.</p>
<p>The housing crisis is <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/climate/climate-publications/built-environment/the-green-belt-sustainability-and-england's-housing-crisis.aspx">inextricable</a> from the climate crisis. The environment is <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/3554/JBA-9s9-00-FULL.pdf">most demonstrably in crisis</a> in urban peripheries. It is where the collapse of a coherent urban order takes place, where big bits of transport infrastructure meet fields and suburbs. It’s often where marginalised communities are pushed. </p>
<p>Ultimately, Cheshire was right. The dual housing and climate crises are exasperated by the failure to resolve the greenbelt argument. </p>
<p>What is built around urban cores is crucial to a truly sustainable and equitable solution – for both people and the environment. But, doing so in a way that is beneficial to both residents and the environment requires a shift in government policy and public imagination. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614001522">more and more people</a> cluster around cities in search of work, or a better balance between home and work life, those areas that are now peripheral will become central. Quite under what conditions they live and work there is a matter that demands urgent attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The way we develop urban peripheries is central to tackling both the housing crisis and the climate emergency.Cameron McEwan, Associate Professor in Architecture, Northumbria University, NewcastleAndreas Lechner, Associate Professor, Graz University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136782023-10-02T14:37:50Z2023-10-02T14:37:50ZNigeria’s new blue economy ministry could harness marine resources - moving the focus away from oil<p><em>Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a new <a href="https://www.channelstv.com/2023/08/16/full-list-of-ministers-and-portfolios/">ministerial portfolio</a> in August: Marine and Blue Economy. This was <a href="https://dailypost.ng/2023/08/22/long-overdue-creation-of-marine-and-blue-economy-ministry-excites-stakeholders/">welcome news</a> as it renewed hope for economic development outside the oil sector. We asked marine sustainability and blue economy <a href="https://iucn.org/our-union/commissions/group/iucn-ceesp-governance-equity-and-rights-thematic-group">expert</a> Isa Olalekan Elegbede to explain how the ministry could benefit Nigeria.</em></p>
<h2>Why has Nigeria established a new ministry for the blue economy?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-02006-4_401-1">blue economy</a> is the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources for economic growth. It <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00586/full">integrates environmental, social, economic and institutional objectives</a> into the use of marine resources. It <a href="https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/eu-blue-economy-sectors_en">includes a wide range of sectors and resources</a> related to oceans, seas, coasts and waterways.</p>
<p>The ocean economy supports <a href="https://www.oecd.org/ocean/topics/ocean-economy/">90% of global trade</a> and <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/oceans-fisheries-and-coastal-economies">provides millions of jobs</a>. It includes shipping, tourism and offshore energy <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/human-impact-ocean-economy/">valued at US$24 trillion</a>. </p>
<p>Marine fisheries and reefs, sea grass and mangroves are worth US$6.9 trillion; trade and transport US$5.2 trillion; and coastline productivity and carbon absorption US$12.1 trillion. </p>
<p>Nigeria’s establishment of a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is a strategic move. I believe the ministry will tap the country’s rich marine resources as an element of the national economic framework. </p>
<p>Nigeria’s coastline <a href="https://fcwc-fish.org/other-news/nigerian-navy-at-64-a-sustained-fight-against-maritime-crimes">stretches</a> for 420 nautical miles and covers an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles. Its maritime interests span the Gulf of Guinea, covering roughly 574,800 square nautical miles with a 2,874 nautical mile coastline.</p>
<p>Marine resources can be exploited to create jobs and transform Nigeria into a <a href="https://venturesafrica.com/now-that-nigeria-has-created-a-ministry-of-marine-and-blue-economy/">leader in sustainable marine activities</a>. It will help diversify the country’s oil-based economy as well. <a href="https://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2021/07/Blue-Bio-Economy-in-Norway.pdf">Norway</a> is an example of how this has been done successfully.</p>
<h2>What four areas should the ministry focus on?</h2>
<p>Nigeria hopes to generate over <a href="https://punchng.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-ministry-of-marine-and-blue-economy/">US$1.5 trillion annually</a> from exploiting its marine resources. To achieve this, the ministry should do the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Create an inclusive committee for effective collaboration among stakeholders and partners. The committee should include scientists, NGOs, youth and traditional communities. Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and the relevant <a href="https://www.legit.ng/politics/1549451-list-ministries-created-by-president-tinubu-ministers/">federal government agencies</a> should not be left out. The committee should advance beyond the scope of the Expanded Committee on Sustainable Blue Economy in Nigeria inaugurated by the former president Muhammadu Buhari.</p></li>
<li><p>Integrate sustainability into policies and strategies. Policies should prioritise sustainable marine resource use. Strategies should focus on sustainable and ethical harvesting, trading, extraction and tourism. Blue economy personnel, unemployed youths and women should be trained. Improved programmes would foster sustainable practices and raise the sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product. </p></li>
<li><p>Sustain investment in ports, transport systems and storage facilities. The same should apply to research and technology. Aquaculture, offshore energy and marine biotechnology should be advanced to increase efficiency and sustainability. Additionally, remote coastal communities should have <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/marine-energy-blue-economy">access</a> to resilient and blue renewable energy sources and systems to enhance protection of coastal and ocean resources.</p></li>
<li><p>Check mismanagement. To ensure a sustainable future for all, the government should protect coastal and marine ecosystems. Mismanagement could destabilise the delicate balance of these ecosystems. This is crucial, considering the <a href="https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-021-00502-1">intricate relationship between the blue economy and marine habitats</a>. Neglect puts fish resources at risk and endangers vital sectors like maritime transport, energy and fishing. Cooperation and commitment to stewardship are therefore imperative to maintaining the health and productivity of the oceans.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What benefits will Nigerians feel if these steps are taken?</h2>
<p>Oil is a key revenue source for the country. But it has led to major environmental problems. Harnessing the blue economy could be a game changer for Nigeria.</p>
<p>First, it could create jobs and generate income from fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, shipping and renewable energy. </p>
<p>Second, a blue economy could mitigate environmental damage as it enables the restoration of marine ecosystems. Unlike oil, fisheries are renewable. Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta has experienced severe environmental harm. A shift to greener energy supplies could make a massive difference.</p>
<p>Third, it creates the opportunity to grow the tourism sector. Seychelles and Mauritius are examples of countries that earn foreign exchange from marine exports and tourism. </p>
<p>Fourth, it could help attract investment to Nigeria’s marine infrastructure, fisheries and technology. </p>
<p>Fifth, it could help decrease regional and social inequalities in coastal communities. </p>
<p>Finally, investment in the blue economy could encourage marine biology, oceanography and marine technology research. This could, in turn, lead to global innovations. </p>
<p>Despite competition from more experienced countries in the marine industry, the blue economy offers Nigeria significant potential. Strategic planning, global partnerships and investment can make it a reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213678/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isa O Elegbede is presently affiliated with the Lagos State University and with many international and local NGOs, such as Geo Blue Planet, IUCN/CEESP/TGER; he is also the president of Sayne Development Foundation and Executive director of Pearlrose Foundation. He has received a fellowship grant from Ocean Frontier institute (OFI) in Canada and several international organisations in the past.</span></em></p>Nigeria’s new marine and blue economy ministry has promise but it must be well run.Isa Olalekan Elegbede, Lecturer, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-SenftenbergLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2066772023-09-18T11:30:06Z2023-09-18T11:30:06ZWell behind at halftime: here’s how to get the UN Sustainable Development Goals back on track<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548712/original/file-20230918-17-6icb2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C3%2C1176%2C794&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://dam.media.un.org/CS.aspx?VP3=DamView&VBID=2AM94SCXBEN&FR_=1&W=1333&H=1245#/DamView&VBID=2AM94S66DGUNP&PN=1&WS=SearchResults">United Nations</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week <a href="https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023">world leaders are gathering</a> at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York to review progress against the Sustainable Development Goals. We’re halfway between when the goals were set in 2015 and when they need to be met in 2030.</p>
<p>As authors of a <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/gsdr/gsdr2023">global UN report</a> on the goals, we have a message to share. Currently, the world is not on track to achieve any of the 17 goals. </p>
<p>There is much at stake. Failing to achieve the goals would mean <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/">by the end of the decade</a>, 600 million people will be living in extreme poverty. More than 80 million children and young people will not be in school. Humanity will overshoot the Paris climate agreement’s 1.5°C “safe” guardrail on average global temperature rise. And, at the current rate, <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2022/09/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2022">it will take 300 years</a> to attain gender equality.</p>
<p>But there is hope. With decisive action, we can shift the dial towards a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous world by 2030. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-modelled-4-scenarios-for-australias-future-economic-growth-alone-cant-deliver-the-goods-126823">We modelled 4 scenarios for Australia's future. Economic growth alone can't deliver the goods</a>
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<h2>What does the research say?</h2>
<p>The set of <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">17 universal goals</a> agreed in 2015 to aim to end poverty, improve health and education, and reduce inequality – while tackling climate change and preserving our oceans and forests. Each of the goals are broken down into targets. </p>
<p>Every four years, the UN Secretary-General appoints an independent group of 15 international scientists to assess progress against these goals and recommend how to move forwards. We were among the authors of the latest <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/gsdr/gsdr2023">Global Sustainable Development Report</a> published late last week.</p>
<p>To provide a snapshot of progress, we reviewed 36 targets. We found only two were on track (on access to mobile networks and internet usage) and 14 showed fair progress. Twelve showed limited or no progress – including around poverty, safe drinking water and ecosystem conservation. </p>
<p>Worryingly, eight targets were assessed as still going backwards. These included reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and fossil fuel subsidies, preventing species extinction and ensuring sustainable fish stocks.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Hear from some of the scientists behind the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>What is holding us back?</h2>
<p>Recent studies have identified feasible and cost-effective <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01098-3">global</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0409-9">national</a> pathways to accelerate progress on the goals. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, in many developing countries, insufficient financial resources and weak governance hinder progress. In other cases, existing investments in fossil fuels have generated strong resistance from powerful vested interests. Achieving some goals, such as responsible consumption and production, will also require big, unpopular changes in habits and lifestyles, which are very ingrained.</p>
<p>To accelerate progress on the goals, targets must be fully integrated by government and business at all levels into core decision making, budgeting and planning processes. We need to identify and prioritise those areas that lag furthest behind. To be effective, we also need to uncover and address the root causes of inadequate outcomes, which lie in our institutions and governance systems.</p>
<p>Accountability also remains weak. The goals are not legally binding and even though countries have expressed their support, this has often failed to translate into policy and investments. In practice, the targets are often “painted on” to existing strategies without redesigning norms and structures to deliver improved outcomes.</p>
<p>If the world is to accelerate progress on the goals, governments need to play a more active part, by setting targets, stimulating innovation, shaping markets, and regulating business. </p>
<p>We call on policymakers to develop tailored action plans to accelerate progress on the goals in the remaining years to 2030, including measures to improve accountability. </p>
<p>Scientists have a major role to play too. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02808-x#:%7E:text=It's%20crucial%20that%20scientists%20support,transformation%20pathways%3B%20and%20improving%20governance.">As we argued in Nature</a>, scientists can help us redesign institutions, systems and practices. By studying ways to strengthen governance and build momentum for tough but transformative reforms, research can overcome resistance to change, and manage negative side-effects. </p>
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<h2>What does it mean for Australia?</h2>
<p>Australia tends to perform poorly on the goals when compared to our peers in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), <a href="https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings">ranking 40th in the world in 2023</a>. Our best-performing goals include health and education, while <a href="https://www.sdgtransformingaustralia.com/">progress lags</a> on environmental goals, economic inequality and cost-of-living pressures. </p>
<p>While some <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/publications/national-food-waste-strategy">environment agencies</a>, <a href="https://acsi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/1ACSI-ESG-Reporting-Trends-in-the-ASX200-JUN22-.pdf">businesses</a> and <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/un-sustainable-goals-voluntary-local-review.pdf">local groups</a> have embraced the goals, Australia’s poor performance is symptomatic of limited traction and commitment at the centre of government. </p>
<p>Here, the goals are often seen as an international development issue rather than central to domestic <a href="https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles/australia/policy-efforts">policy efforts</a>. We lack a high-level statement or any strategy or action plan for the goals. There is no lead unit or coordination mechanism in place and no reference to the goals in the federal budget. One promising development, <a href="https://www.sdgdata.gov.au/">a national Sustainable Development Goal monitoring portal</a>, hasn’t been updated in five years. </p>
<p>The best performing countries have taken concrete steps to mainstream the targets and ensure accountability:</p>
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<li><p><a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2022/734766/IPOL_IDA(2022)734766_EN.pdf">Denmark</a> requires new government bills to be screened and assessed for their impacts on the goals </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://stm.fi/en/-/action-plan-to-integrate-the-economy-of-wellbeing-into-decision-making-and-sustainability-assessment">Finland</a> has taken steps to place sustainable development and people’s wellbeing at the heart of policy and decision making. A sustainable development commission, annual citizens’ panel on sustainable development and national audits provide <a href="https://www.environmental-auditing.org/media/auzf4emi/wgea-wp5_sustainabledevelopementgoals_2022.pdf">increased accountability</a> </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.futuregenerations.wales/about-us/future-generations-act/">Wales</a> requires public bodies to use sustainable development as a guiding principle reflecting the values and aspirations of the Welsh people.</p></li>
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<p>Australia’s first <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-07/measuring-what-matters-statement020230721_0.pdf">wellbeing framework</a> is an important step forward. The framework of 50 indicators has considerable overlap with the goals, despite notable exceptions such as the lack of a poverty indicator or any specific targets or benchmarks. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-first-wellbeing-framework-is-about-to-measure-what-matters-but-its-harder-than-counting-gdp-209868">Australia's first wellbeing framework is about to measure what matters – but it's harder than counting GDP</a>
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<h2>Start lifting our game</h2>
<p>As we’ve learned through our own research, little will change if such promising initiatives remain box-ticking exercises that fail to reorient our societies and economies towards sustainable development. </p>
<p>To achieve real change, indicator frameworks need to be translated into timebound targets that clearly set the agreed direction and level of ambition. These targets must be embedded in the core decision-making processes of government and business.</p>
<p>Remember the goals are not a set of technical targets and indicators. They are the outcomes each of us want for our society and the world we live in. </p>
<p>While we are behind at halftime, the game is not over. It is up to us to lift our performance and turn the score around. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-threatens-the-rights-of-children-the-un-just-outlined-the-obligations-states-have-to-protect-them-209587">Climate change threatens the rights of children. The UN just outlined the obligations states have to protect them</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Allen receives funding from the Australian Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shirin Malekpour receives funding from the Australian Government.</span></em></p>Our research shows the world is not on track to achieve any of the Sustainable Development Goals. But with decisive action, we can still achieve a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous future.Cameron Allen, Research Fellow, Monash UniversityShirin Malekpour, Associate Professor in Sustainable Development Governance, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125852023-09-06T12:26:55Z2023-09-06T12:26:55ZThe US committed to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but like other countries, it’s struggling to make progress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546246/original/file-20230904-15-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=229%2C467%2C3173%2C2207&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many colonias along the Texas-Mexico border still lack basic infrastructure, including running water.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TexasBorderColonias/47c19c2a66e340d49a1d534f3b6df91e/photo">AP Photo/Eric Gay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a Zen parable, a man sees a horse and rider galloping by. The man asks the rider where he’s going, and the rider responds, “I don’t know. Ask the horse!”</p>
<p>It is easy to feel out of control and helpless in the face of the many problems Americans are now experiencing – <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/">unaffordable health care</a>, <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/poverty-awareness-month.html">poverty</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-report-climate-solutions-exist-but-humanity-has-to-break-from-the-status-quo-and-embrace-innovation-202134">climate change</a>, to name a few. These problems are made harder by the ways in which people, including elected representatives, often talk past each other.</p>
<p>Most <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/06/21/inflation-health-costs-partisan-cooperation-among-the-nations-top-problems/">people want</a> a strong economy, social well-being and a healthy environment. These goals are interdependent: A strong economy isn’t possible without a society peaceful enough to support investment and well-functioning markets, or without water and air clean enough to support life and productivity. This understanding – that economic, social and environmental well-being are intertwined – is the premise of sustainable development. </p>
<p>In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2015/ga11688.doc.htm">unanimously adopted</a> 17 <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/12/sustainable-development-goals-kick-off-with-start-of-new-year">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, known as the SDGs, with 169 measurable targets to be achieved by 2030. Though not legally binding, all nations, including the U.S., agreed to pursue this agenda.</p>
<p>The world is now halfway to that 2030 deadline. Countries have made some progress, such as reducing extreme poverty and child mortality, though the COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://www.un.org/en/desa/it%E2%80%99s-now-or-never-achieving-sdgs-hinges-effective-crises-response">set back progress</a> on many targets.</p>
<p>On Sept. 18-19, 2023, countries are reviewing global progress toward those goals during a meeting at the United Nations. It’s a good opportunity for Americans to review their own progress because, as we see it, sustainable development is fundamentally American.</p>
<h2>Environment, economy and health intertwined</h2>
<p>Though not widely recognized, sustainable development has been a core American policy since President Richard Nixon signed the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/nepa/downloads/national-environmental-policy-act-1969">National Environmental Policy Act </a> into law in 1970. The law says that Americans should “use all practicable means and measures … to create and maintain conditions under which man [sic] and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.”</p>
<p>While it is tempting in today’s sour political climate to dismiss this as wishful thinking, the U.S. has made some progress reconciling economic development with environmental protection. </p>
<p>Gross domestic product, for example, grew 196% between 1980 and 2022, while total emissions of the six most common non-greenhouse air pollutants, including lead and sulfur dioxide, fell 73%, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary">according to the Environmental Protection Agency</a>. </p>
<p>The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a major sustainable development law, is designed to further accelerate the use of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through tax credits and other incentives. <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/the-us-is-poised-for-an-energy-revolution.html">Goldman Sachs</a> estimated the law would spur about US$3 trillion in renewable energy investment. The law has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/one-year-biden-still-needs-explain-his-signature-clean-energy-legislation-2023-08-16/">already been credited with creating</a> 170,000 new jobs and leading to more than 270 new or expanded clean energy projects. That impact further demonstrates that environmental goals can align with economic growth.</p>
<p>The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals cover a broader range of environmental, social and economic issues, and there are indicators for assessing progress on each.</p>
<h2>How is America doing?</h2>
<p><a href="https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings">The U.S. ranked 39th</a> out of 166 countries in a 2023 review of national efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.unsdsn.org/about-us">Sustainable Development Solutions Network</a>, which operates under the auspices of the U.N. Secretary-General, finds that America is lagging behind the targets set <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">for many of the Sustainable Development Goals</a> that are critical to the nation’s defense, competitiveness and health, such as reducing obesity, increasing life expectancy at birth, protecting labor rights, reducing maternal mortality, decreasing inequality and protecting biodiversity.</p>
<p>To understand where the U.S. is falling short, we asked <a href="https://www.eli.org/sites/default/files/files-pdf/GoverningforSustainability-TOC.pdf">26 experts working on various areas of sustainable development</a> to review the nation’s progress and make recommendations for future action. The resulting 2023 book, <a href="https://www.eli.org/eli-press-books/governing-sustainability">Governing for Sustainability</a>, provides some 500 U.S.-specific recommendations for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.</p>
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<img alt="A young child, looking bored, sits on a woman's lap as a nurse tests her blood pressure." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Residents waited in long lines for a free annual health clinic in Wise, Va., in 2017. A nonprofit operated the annual pop-up clinic for two decades until the state expanded Medicaid eligibility in 2019, which helped more residents afford local health care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ruby-partin-and-her-adoptive-son-timothy-huff-visit-a-free-news-photo/820902146">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Health and access to quality health care loom large in many of the goals. The authors in several chapters explain why the nation cannot eliminate poverty or hunger, or have a vibrant economy, gender equality or education gains, without widely available, affordable health care. Yet, the U.S. has some of the <a href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2023/07/why-are-americans-paying-more-for-healthcare">highest health care costs in the world</a>. Several states have <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/georgia-medicaid-program-work-requirement-off-slow-start-102389380">rejected efforts to expand eligibility</a> for federal Medicaid health insurance for low-income residents, leaving many people without care.</p>
<p>Similarly, the authors show that human health, ecological health, clean water and economic vitality <a href="https://www.eli.org/eli-press-books/governing-sustainability">all require sound climate policy</a>. A quickly warming world <a href="https://theconversation.com/8-billion-people-four-ways-climate-change-and-population-growth-combine-to-threaten-public-health-with-global-consequences-193077">poses new health risks</a>, decimates ecosystems, strains potable water supplies and reduces global economic productivity.</p>
<p>Clean and abundant water is critical to a functioning economy and a stable, diverse ecosystem, and yet some areas of the United States <a href="https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-rules-the-us-is-not-required-to-ensure-access-to-water-for-the-navajo-nation-202588">still lack clean water</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/youth-living-in-settlements-at-us-border-suffer-poverty-and-lack-of-health-care-103416">indoor plumbing</a>. This often occurs in communities of color and low income, and it can impede economic prosperity and development in these areas.</p>
<p>Ready access to nutritious food is also a bedrock need to support many of the Sustainable Development Goals, from poverty alleviation to education, yet far too many American children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjamanetworkopen.2021.5262">rely on school lunches</a> for <a href="https://www.ppic.org/blog/feeding-children-when-schools-are-closed-for-covid-19/">basic sustenance</a>.</p>
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<img alt="A man squints into the sun as he holds a large hose that pours water into a tank in the back of a pickup truck." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A U.S. Army veteran fills a tank in the back of his pickup with water in Laredo, Texas, to provide water for his mother’s home. Rural residents in parts of the Southwest have to truck in clean water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/carlos-salas-u-s-army-veteran-fills-his-water-tank-that-is-news-photo/916823510">Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The goals covering <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16">peace, justice, strong institutions</a> and <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal17">partnerships</a> are necessary to achieve all of the goals. A society at war with itself and without rule of law cannot support a vibrant, diverse economy and lasting democracy. This has been shown repeatedly as some developing nations <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/10/20/understanding-and-responding-to-global-democratic-backsliding-pub-88173">backslide from democratic progress</a> and prosperity to civil war and poverty. <a href="https://www.eli.org/eli-press-books/governing-sustainability">Developed nations</a> are subject to the same forces.</p>
<h2>Taking the reins</h2>
<p>Sustainable development is emphatically not about government alone solving the nation’s problems. Businesses, universities and other organizations, as well as individuals, are essential to help the country realize its environmental, health and climate goals, fair practices and living wages. </p>
<p>The right place to “take the reins” is where you are, and with the problems or tasks in front of you – at work and at home. Figure out more sustainable ways to use water and energy, for example. Look at what our book recommends and what others are already doing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Seize opportunities such as saving money, and reduce risks by, for example, cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Every individual can contribute to a better future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Halfway to the SDGs’ 2030 deadline, countries have made progress, but most are struggling to meet all 17 goals. The US is no exception.Scott Schang, Director of Environmental Law and Policy Clinic; Professor of Practice, Wake Forest UniversityJohn Dernbach, Professor of Law Emeritus, Widener UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2080982023-07-18T12:30:50Z2023-07-18T12:30:50ZUsing green banks to solve America’s affordable housing crisis – and climate change at the same time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537145/original/file-20230712-27-meeok5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C40%2C3360%2C2198&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Retrofitting apartment buildings for energy efficiency and solar power can boost affordable housing and climate protection.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MassachusettsHomelessness/dc1bf7dbd28142cd8f57bb483203dbce/photo">AP Photo/Steven Senne</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Green banks are starting to draw attention in the U.S., particularly since the federal government <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-launches-historic-20-billion-grant-competitions-create">announced its first grant competitions</a> under a national green bank program to bring clean technology and more affordable energy to low-income communities.</p>
<p>But installing more solar and wind electricity generation isn’t the only way <a href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/green-investment-banks.htm">green banks</a> can help. </p>
<p>Massachusetts is launching an innovative new green bank that could become a model as states try to manage two crises at once: lack of affordable housing and climate change.</p>
<p>While most green banks focus on clean energy, the <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H2894">Massachusetts Community Climate Bank</a> is specifically designed to boost the state’s stock of sustainable, affordable housing. It comes at an opportune time: States can now tap into billions of dollars in new federal funding for green banks under the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cleanenergy/inflation-reduction-act-guidebook/">Inflation Reduction Act</a>.</p>
<p>So what exactly is a green bank, and how might it work for sustainable housing?</p>
<h2>What is a green bank?</h2>
<p>Despite the name, green banks aren’t traditional banks. They function more like investment funds with a mission to promote sustainability.</p>
<p>Green banks are public, quasi-public or nonprofit entities that use public funds to encourage private investment in low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure. </p>
<p>By using innovative <a href="https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/what-is-a-green-bank/green-bank-techniques/">financing strategies</a>, green banks can lower the risks for private investors to support projects, which reduces the amount of public money needed to reach government goals like expanding renewable energy or, in this case, affordable housing.</p>
<h2>Green banks across the US</h2>
<p>The U.S. had <a href="https://mcusercontent.com/3e3337737c870aa879b2ef144/files/58657110-26b4-3ee5-a3e4-45fda1bb6594/CGC_Consortium_AnnualReport.01.pdf">about two dozen green banks</a> operating in early 2023 in at least 18 states and the District of Columbia – most of them focused on accelerating the transition from fossil fuel use to clean energy. And more were being developed.</p>
<p>In 2022, those banks used US$1.51 billion of public money to <a href="https://mcusercontent.com/3e3337737c870aa879b2ef144/files/58657110-26b4-3ee5-a3e4-45fda1bb6594/CGC_Consortium_AnnualReport.01.pdf">mobilize $3.12 billion in private investment</a>. Since 2011, they have brought in a total of $14.8 billion.</p>
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<p>Each bank is slightly different. <a href="https://www.ctgreenbank.com/">Connecticut’s</a> was the first state-run green bank in the U.S. It started with a renewable energy focus but expanded to include sustainable infrastructure, climate resilience, water, waste and recycling projects. <a href="https://michigansaves.org/news/press-release-michigan-invests-1-5-million-in-michigans-green-bank/">Michigan</a> created a nonprofit green bank called <a href="https://michigansaves.org/">Michigan Saves</a> that provides financing for energy efficiency. <a href="https://gems.hawaii.gov/">Hawaii’s</a> state-run green bank boosts solar energy use. </p>
<p>At the local level, Maryland’s <a href="https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/05/27/its-not-that-easy-being-a-green-bank-in-maryland-but-its-getting-easier/">Montgomery County</a> has been financing rooftop and community solar, energy efficiency and electric vehicle charging infrastructure through a green bank since 2016. </p>
<p><a href="https://financenola.org/news/fano-changes-its-business-model-to-address-climate-change">Finance New Orleans</a> is a particularly instructive comparison – the 40-year-old housing finance agency recently transitioned to a climate-oriented business model to finance energy efficiency, stormwater management and green infrastructure projects for homeowners, businesses and local governments.</p>
<h2>A green bank for sustainable housing</h2>
<p>The new <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H2894">Massachusetts Community Climate Bank</a> is solely dedicated to climate-friendly and resilient affordable housing to meet the goals of the state’s <a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-clean-energy-and-climate-plan-for-2050">Climate Plan for 2050</a>. </p>
<p>That might include upgrading insulation and windows in older housing complexes to make them less leaky on hot and cold days, transitioning to electric household appliances such as heat pumps or adding solar panels and electric vehicle chargers.</p>
<p>Residential buildings are one of Massachusetts’ <a href="https://www.mass.gov/doc/clean-energy-and-climate-plan-for-2025-and-2030/download">largest sources</a> of greenhouse emissions, accounting for 19% of the total. Making housing more sustainable would cut those emissions and also help cut emissions in other sectors. For example, rooftop solar panels can reduce the demand for electricity from natural gas-fired power plants, allowing the state to close the plants or run them less often.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of apartments that look like townhouses lines a street. A similar row is on the hill behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537430/original/file-20230714-29-yv3zo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537430/original/file-20230714-29-yv3zo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537430/original/file-20230714-29-yv3zo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537430/original/file-20230714-29-yv3zo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537430/original/file-20230714-29-yv3zo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537430/original/file-20230714-29-yv3zo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537430/original/file-20230714-29-yv3zo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An affordable housing development in Chelsea, Mass., a Boston suburb that has been under pressure from rising housing prices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/highland-terrace-on-gerrish-ave-a-larger-newer-affordable-news-photo/1230261200">David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The challenge is that the finance industry tends to view new technology and low-income households as risks. </p>
<p>Green banks are able to use public money to “de-risk” such investments. For example, they can lend at low rates to private or local lenders on the condition that they lend money at affordable rates for customers to electrify their heating. <a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/cierp/files/2021/09/CPL_Policy_Brief_US_Green_Bank-1.pdf">Other financial instruments</a> include loan guarantees, securitization and co-investment. </p>
<p>Massachusetts’ green bank started with an initial $50 million in state funds, but it expects to grow by attracting both private investors and federal funding.</p>
<p>The timing is strategic. The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cleanenergy/inflation-reduction-act-guidebook/">Inflation Reduction Act</a>, passed by Congress in 2022, includes funding for green banks. Among other commitments, it creates a $27 billion <a href="https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund">Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund</a>, <a href="http://www.ncelenviro.org/resources/green-banks-and-the-inflation-reduction-act-issue-brief/">$20 billion</a> of which is earmarked to be awarded to nonprofits to invest indirectly in green projects through other local financing entities – including green banks.</p>
<h2>Lessons from green banks around the world</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.climatepolicylab.org/">Climate Policy Lab</a> at Tufts University, where we work as researchers, studies green banks around the world.</p>
<p>We have found that by following a few <a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/cierp/files/2021/09/CPL_Policy_Brief_US_Green_Bank-1.pdf">foundational principles</a>, green banks can increase financing for climate priorities while remaining financially viable and without creating housing debt that owners can’t pay back. These organizations should:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Have a clear, well-defined mission.</p></li>
<li><p>Be profit-making, but not profit-maximizing.</p></li>
<li><p>Address market gaps rather than competing with private investment.</p></li>
<li><p>Be flexible enough to use a variety of financial instruments.</p></li>
<li><p>Have an independent, stable and nonpartisan governance structure to ensure stability.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The Massachusetts green bank has a sector-focused mission that targets a market gap. Its focus on affordable housing could be clarified even more by tying it to the state definition of <a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/the-disadvantaged-community-program">disadvantaged communities</a>. The <a href="https://greenbank.ny.gov/Our-Impact/Impact-Report">NY Green Bank</a> in New York does this by aiming to have $100 million – about 35% of its total – invested in green housing to benefit disadvantaged communities by 2025.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large apartment building with solar panels on the roof and on shades over the parking area." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537146/original/file-20230712-23-qlcivd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537146/original/file-20230712-23-qlcivd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537146/original/file-20230712-23-qlcivd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537146/original/file-20230712-23-qlcivd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537146/original/file-20230712-23-qlcivd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537146/original/file-20230712-23-qlcivd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537146/original/file-20230712-23-qlcivd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new sustainable apartment building in New York’s Rockaways neighborhood shows how solar panels and geothermal energy can help offset electric, heating and cooling costs for low-income residents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AffordableHousingNewYork/63038a0146a4418587f2eb5f28b2094c/photo">AP Photo/Mark Lennihan</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Focusing the Massachusetts bank’s climate mission will involve some tough decisions. For example, <a href="https://www.ctgreenbank.com/home-solutions/smart-e-loans/eligible-upgrades/">Connecticut’s Green Bank</a> supports gas appliances above defined energy efficiency thresholds, but there is an argument for <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/bio/lauren-urbanek/new-senate-bills-encourage-us-heat-pump-manufacturing-jobs">leapfrogging gas entirely</a> to support the electrification of heating and cooking instead.</p>
<h2>What else should green banks prioritize?</h2>
<p>Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is important for curbing future climate change, but communities will also have to adapt to the climate impacts ahead.</p>
<p>The fact that the Massachusetts green bank is dedicated to affordable housing is already one adaptation. <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/bio/sam-whillans/climate-report-confirms-housing-essential-adaptation">People who have homes</a> are far more protected from climate impacts than those who do not. And if those homes are powered by clean energy with lower utility bills, low-income residents can more easily <a href="https://theconversation.com/americas-power-disconnection-crisis-in-31-states-utilities-can-shut-off-electricity-for-nonpayment-in-a-heat-wave-208893">afford to cool their homes</a> in extreme heat waves.</p>
<p>Green banks could also fund <a href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/cc/policy-perspectives-climate-resilient-infrastructure.pdf">climate resilience</a>, such as adding green spaces around buildings for natural cooling. Research shows that affordable housing in the United States is often in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-01/how-climate-change-is-targeting-affordable-housing">highly vulnerable locations</a>, such as those at risk of flooding. </p>
<p>The Connecticut Green Bank, for example, is piloting “<a href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/climatechange/GC3/GC3-working-group-reports/GC3_Financing_funding_Adaptation_Resilience_Final_Report_111320.pdf">Property Assessed Resilience</a>,” which allows homeowners to borrow for flood protection upgrades and benefit immediately from increased property valuations and reduced insurance premiums. They can repay over decades through modest increases in their property tax bills. </p>
<p>Focusing on the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/31/opinion/massachusetts-housing-moon-shot/">scarcity of affordable housing</a> can reduce both emissions and socioeconomic inequity simultaneously. In our view, that is the holy grail of climate policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208098/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Massachusetts is establishing the first US green bank dedicated to sustainable affordable housing. Three experts in climate finance explain why better housing can help rein in global warming.Tarun Gopalakrishnan, Research Fellow, Climate Policy Lab, Tufts UniversityBethany Tietjen, Research Fellow in Climate Policy, The Fletcher School, Tufts UniversitySeth Owusu-Mante, Research Fellow in International Development, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2030892023-06-21T18:32:24Z2023-06-21T18:32:24ZIs it possible to measure sustainable development?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519966/original/file-20230407-20-pyrvv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C1894%2C1264&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The search for a balance in meeting human needs within the limits of the environment is a perennial challenge in the history of humanity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Is it possible to measure sustainable development? Can we go beyond just embracing virtuous principles and actually apply the concept in a concrete manner? </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong>This article is part of <em>La Conversation Canada’s</em> series <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr/topics/foret-boreale-138017">The boreal forest: A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers</a></strong></p>
<p><br><em>La Conversation Canada invites you to take a virtual walk in the heart of the boreal forest. In this series, our experts focus on management and sustainable development issues, natural disturbances, the ecology of terrestrial wildlife and aquatic ecosystems, northern agriculture and the cultural and economic importance of the boreal forest for Indigenous peoples. We hope you have a pleasant — and informative — walk through the forest!</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Applying sustainable development (SD) is complex. SD, for that matter, is a utopia: “<a href="https://banq.pretnumerique.ca/resources/4ecd2256d8024b15e0000376?l=en">The only thing that is sustainable in the history of life is change and adaptation</a>,” writes ecologist Francesco di Castri in the preface to the environmental educational guide, “<em>Qui a peur de l'an 2000?</em>” </p>
<p>So how do you measure what does not yet exist? How can we do this in an objective and systemic way? And how do we avoid <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenwashing.asp">greenwashing</a>? </p>
<p>We are researchers working on sustainable development, industrial ecology and climate change mitigation at the Department of fundamental sciences (<em>Département des sciences fondamentales</em>) of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). We will try to shed some light on these issues in our work as researchers in the Chair in eco-advising (<a href="http://ecoconseil.uqac.ca/"><em>Chaire en éco-conseil</em></a>).</p>
<h2>SD: yesterday, today and tomorrow</h2>
<p>The desire for sustainability is not new. Finding a balance between meeting human needs and respecting the limits of the environment has been a perennial challenge in the history of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/10/1637">humanity</a>. In this respect, the field of forestry in the boreal zone, with its long-term perspective, is a good example of the need to strike a balance between forest users and conservation of the ecosystem. </p>
<p>SD was formalized towards the end of the <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1909">20th century</a>. In 1972, the <a href="http://www.un-documents.net/aconf48-14r1.pdf">United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm</a> ruled that development and environment, previously considered to be in opposition, could be approached in a mutually beneficial way. </p>
<p>In 1987, the <a href="http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf">modern definition of SD</a> emerged from the Brundtland Report “Our Common Future,” at the World Commission on Environment and Development: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is an excellent definition, but its application through concrete actions remains vague. </p>
<p>Despite the adoption of Agenda 21 in 1992, the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/rio20">Rio+20 Conference</a> in 2012, noting unsatisfactory progress, called for the adoption of objectives, targets and indicators that would be applicable on all scales, and could mobilize action to obtain concrete and measurable results by 2030. </p>
<p>This led to the adoption in 2015 of the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/">2030 Agenda</a>, a global reference framework for SD. This agenda is structured around 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. It is a universal call to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives of all people everywhere.</p>
<p>But how can these virtuous goals be put into action through concrete policies, strategies, programs and projects that can be objectively measured over time on all scales? This is the challenge that the International Organisation of La Francophonie (<a href="https://www.francophonie.org/francophonie-brief-1763"><em>Organisation internationale de la Francophonie</em></a>) asked the UQAC Chair in eco-advising to take up during a partnership that lasted from 2014 to 2018.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="aerial view of a forest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516410/original/file-20230320-1817-to3ivx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The field of forestry in the boreal zone, with its long-term perspective, is a good example of the need to strike a balance between forest users and conservation of the ecosystem.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tools for implementing SD</h2>
<p>Implementing SD cannot be done without applying a systemic approach. <a href="https://constellation.uqac.ca/8063/">The Systemic Sustainability Analysis (SSA)</a> puts into perspective the multiple dimensions of SD, the synergies and antagonisms and the means used to achieve them. The Sustainable Development Analysis Grid (<a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1909">SDAG</a>) and the SDG Target Prioritization Grid (<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2520">SDGT-PG</a>) are the two main tools of the SSA.</p>
<p>The development of the SDAG started more than 30 years ago, just after the Brundtland Commission. Since 2017, SDAG is among the <a href="https://sdgintegration.undp.org/guide-sustainable-development-analysis-grid">tools available at the United Nations</a> for mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda’s SDGs. The SDAG is a free and <a href="https://constellation.uqac.ca/id/eprint/3959/">publicly available</a> tool. It aims to guide SD policies, strategies, programs or projects (PSPPs) in order <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1909">to improve their gaps and/or characterize their progress</a>. SDAG puts SD into practice using a pragmatic and responsible approach. </p>
<p>SD should not be thought of as an ideology, but rather, as a way to respond to legitimate community needs in the present. That means using it to question policies, strategies, programs and projects. These needs are identified and addressed in a dynamic model with six dimensions: ecological, social, economic, ethical, cultural and governance. </p>
<p>The SDAG is a diagnostic tool that can be applied in the present and in the future in a process of continuous improvement. Geometric figures and prioritization indices make it possible to visualize the results of the analysis, including the notion of the importance of the objective, the organization’s current performance and the improvement measures that could be the subject of an action plan to improve performance, determine indicators and set targets. </p>
<p>SDAG is a mature tool that has been applied in many developed and developing countries and contexts (Canada, USA, France, China, Benin, Burkina Faso, etc.). A detailed application is presented in a <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1909">2017 article</a> for the case study of the Arnaud Mine in Sept-Îles, Que., where support from the Chair in eco-advising was provided. </p>
<p>Thanks to its user’s guide, the SDAG can also be applied without support. For example, the Boisaco Group of the forest industry used it in its <a href="https://boisaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Rapport-Developpement-Durable_Boisaco-1.pdf">strategic planning process</a>. The Boisaco Group is a major forestry stakeholder in the boreal forest of Québec’s Upper North Shore (<em>Haute-Côte-Nord</em> region). SDAG was used to reinforce the Boisaco Group’s commitment to SD. SDAG makes it possible to consider all the factors influencing the future of the forests and to put in place measures that respect the principles of SD and cover all its dimensions. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2520">SDGT-PG</a> was developed specifically using the 2030 Agenda’s SDG framework and applying the SDAG prioritization mechanism. The SDGT-PG guides different entities (countries, regions, local governments, public and private organizations) in prioritizing the SDG targets for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It allows them to report their achievements according to their specific contribution to the advancement of the SDG targets. </p>
<p>The entity uses this tool in its prioritization process to 1) identify the importance of the targets, 2) assess current performance in relation to these targets and 3) analyze the competencies (depending on the entity’s governance scale and scope of action) for implementing the targets.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the SDGT-PG enables entities to take ownership of the SDG targets and implement them according to their priorities and capacities. The SDGT-PG has been applied in <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2520">Québec City’s SD strategy</a>. The tool is also used in various industries such as aluminum, dairy, tourism and ports, as well as in research projects at the Chair in eco-advising.</p>
<h2>So…can SD be measured?</h2>
<p>…Yes, it is possible, but in a framework where SD is applied dynamically over time and using a pragmatic and systemic approach with measurable indicators, as do the SDAG and SDGT-PG.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203089/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Faubert has received funding from Mitacs, MAPAQ, MFFP, etc.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claude Villeneuve et David Tremblay ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.</span></em></p>Is it possible to measure sustainable development? Can we go beyond merely embracing virtuous principles and put the concept into use?Patrick Faubert, Professor - Industrial ecology and climate change mitigation, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Claude Villeneuve, Professeur titulaire Chaire en éco-conseil spécialiste des changements climatiques, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)David Tremblay, Chercheur postdoctoral, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2033142023-04-16T12:19:06Z2023-04-16T12:19:06ZInvesting in employee ownership could help the Canadian government meet its sustainability goals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520931/original/file-20230413-18-sbbnce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C31%2C7060%2C4689&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Employee-owned firms have better organizational performance and tend to be more resilient in the face of economic disruptions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Buried deep in the Canadian government’s 2023 budget, and overshadowed by other announcements, is a plan to <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/report-rapport/chap3-en.html#a11">create an employee ownership trust</a> — a specialized legal structure that makes it easier for business owners to sell equity to their employees.</p>
<p>We know from decades of research in other jurisdictions, like the <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300209334/the-citizens-share/">United States</a>, that mechanisms like this can have major benefits for workers and businesses. However, the potential benefits of this trust go beyond the workplace.</p>
<p>Building a strong foundation for employee ownership could also be a cost-effective way to tackle <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/priorities-priorites/agenda-programme.aspx?lang=eng">Canada’s sustainability priorities</a> — if we get it right. </p>
<p>This means ensuring employee-owners play a meaningful, active role in their company’s decision-making processes. It also means bolstering efforts to encourage the widespread use of the new trust through education and incentives.</p>
<h2>Benefits of employee ownership</h2>
<p>The economic benefits of employee ownership for workers, businesses and communities are <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300209334/the-citizens-share/">well-established</a>. </p>
<p>After all, we all know the difference ownership makes. Think about rental cars and hotel rooms. When we use something we don’t own, we tend to be less careful than we would be with our own cars or homes.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/employee-owned-companies-perform-better-but-are-resisted-by-banks-lawyers-and-governments-117154">Employee-owned companies perform better, but are resisted by banks, lawyers and governments</a>
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<p>Similarly — and not surprisingly — employees with a sense of ownership are more likely to work harder for their company, which leads to <a href="https://wol.iza.org/articles/does-employee-ownership-improve-performance/long">better organizational performance</a>. Employee-owners also have more wealth at retirement, get paid higher wages and enjoy better job quality and security.</p>
<p>Employee-owned firms tend to be more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/S0885-3339(2013)0000014006">resilient in the face of economic disruptions</a>, <a href="https://www.employeeownershipfoundation.org/research/employee-owned-firms-excel-at-employee-retention-during-pandemic">like the pandemic</a>, which means they are also better at anchoring the well-being of surrounding communities.</p>
<h2>Addressing sustainability priorities</h2>
<p>Given the benefits of employee ownership, the trust could address at least three of the sustainable development goals highlighted in <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/agenda-2030.html">Canada’s 2030 Agenda</a>: reduced inequality, decent work and economic growth and sustainable cities and communities. </p>
<p>Increased employee ownership could also drive progress on other sustainability priorities, like <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation.html">environmental protection</a>. Recent research shows that granting ownership to non-executive employees <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05334-y">increases expenditures on environmental protection</a> and improves the quality of environmental disclosures.</p>
<p>Employee representation on boards of directors can facilitate better <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12345">environmental, social and governance performance</a>. And financial incentives and strong social relations among employees <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3163-1">facilitate sustainable innovation</a>. </p>
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<img alt="Person holding a mobile phone with a grid of colourful icons on it. Across the top of the phone screen it says 'Sustainable Development Goals.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520922/original/file-20230413-19-zjjmzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520922/original/file-20230413-19-zjjmzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520922/original/file-20230413-19-zjjmzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520922/original/file-20230413-19-zjjmzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520922/original/file-20230413-19-zjjmzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520922/original/file-20230413-19-zjjmzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520922/original/file-20230413-19-zjjmzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of objectives that were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to bring ‘peace and prosperity’ to people and the planet by 2030.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>One reason for these anticipated benefits is that, unlike distant shareholders, employee-owners are more likely to <a href="https://cusp.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/10-Democratising-firms-online.pdf">experience the positive and negative effects</a> of their companies. An ownership stake makes employees more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05334-y">put pressure on management to address workplace issues</a>. </p>
<p>Another reason is that the successful implementation of corporate sustainability strategies often requires employees to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9881-2">go beyond immediate job responsibilities</a>. Employees are more likely to do this when they feel the responsibility of ownership. </p>
<p>Finally, when a critical mass of employees become owners, as is the case with worker co-operatives, it can create a self-reinforcing culture of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811542">corporate social responsibility</a>, especially when supported by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125618778853">strong leadership and bold mission statements</a>. </p>
<h2>The importance of participation</h2>
<p>Like any business model, employee ownership is not a panacea on its own. Researchers have highlighted how the economic benefits of employee ownership are contingent on supportive management practices, particularly those that encourage employee participation. </p>
<p>Building a sense of <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00242.x">psychological ownership</a> through participative management is important for organizational effectiveness. Though research on this topic is nascent, the same logic likely applies for sustainability performance. For example, we know that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125618778853">increased opportunities for participation</a> are critical for cultivating bottom-up sustainability-related innovations in employee-owned firms.</p>
<p>There’s a top-down influence as well. <a href="https://employeeownership.co.uk/resources/what-the-evidence-tells-us/">Nearly three-quarters of employee-owned businesses in the U.K.</a> had social and environmental statements of purpose, and almost all involved employees in decision-making. </p>
<p>This means that governments and businesses seeking to maximize the broader benefits of the employee ownership trust will have to pay close attention to participation. It’s promising that <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/report-rapport/chap3-en.html#m32">Budget 2023 committed to gathering feedback</a> on how best to foster employee participation. </p>
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<img alt="A woman in a green blazer gestures while speaking from behind a podium to a crowd of people." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520364/original/file-20230411-18-d8w8h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520364/original/file-20230411-18-d8w8h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520364/original/file-20230411-18-d8w8h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520364/original/file-20230411-18-d8w8h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520364/original/file-20230411-18-d8w8h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520364/original/file-20230411-18-d8w8h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520364/original/file-20230411-18-d8w8h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland delivers the federal budget in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 28, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
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<p>Fortunately, we have a wealth of knowledge at our disposal about the different forms this participation can take. Opportunities for meaningful and effective participation <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X99202004">span the business organization</a>, all the way from the assembly line to the board room. </p>
<p>Well-designed employee participation is not a constraint on management. In fact, employee engagement is key to realizing the <a href="https://cleo.rutgers.edu/articles/employee-ownership-the-new-source-of-competitive-advantage/">long-term competitive advantage of employee ownership</a>, while simultaneously driving corporate sustainability.</p>
<h2>Not a moment too soon</h2>
<p>These economic, social and environmental benefits are contingent upon many Canadian business owners deciding to sell their companies to employees. There are two important considerations that need to be highlighted here. </p>
<p>First, current and future business owners need to know about employee ownership and its wide-ranging benefits. Educational institutions, particularly business schools, need to step up their efforts to spread the word about its benefits. The <a href="https://cleo.rutgers.edu/">Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership</a>, which we are contributing to, has a wealth of resources educators can use. </p>
<p>Second, governments must provide the right incentives to support the <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/lsxe9ikcquzl/2QEZwE9Xzy05euZ8WsGlKS/8e2cd75b929acf3882704aac7702f421/Possible_Uptake_of_Employee_Ownership_Trusts_in_Canada.pdf">widespread adoption</a> of participatory forms of employee ownership to realize economic, social and environmental outcomes. </p>
<p>In recognition of these broader impacts, calls are emerging to consider financial support for employee ownership transitions as a <a href="https://cleo.rutgers.edu/articles/impact-investing-and-employee-ownership/">viable investment strategy for impact-oriented investors</a>. </p>
<p>Research in other jurisdictions like the <a href="https://hbr.org/1987/09/how-well-is-employee-ownership-working">U.S.</a>, <a href="https://employeeownership.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/White-Rose-Centre-for-employee-ownership-survey-2019-report.pdf">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2012/recent-trends-in-employee-financial-participation-in-the-european-union">Europe</a> shows that incentives and policies, like <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-capital-gains-tax-exemption-employee-owned-companies/">beneficial tax treatment for capital gains</a> and employer contributions, can add to this momentum.</p>
<p>This is an exciting moment for Canadian business and labour. With the right next steps, Canada’s new employee ownership trust is poised to help us transition to a more equitable, sustainable and just economy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203314/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Pek receives funding from the University of Victoria's President's Chair award and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University through this appointment as a Social Capital Partners Fellow. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorin Busaan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Canadian government’s proposed employee ownership trust could have positive impacts that go beyond workers and businesses.Lorin Busaan, PhD Student, Gustavson School of Business, University of VictoriaSimon Pek, Associate Professor of Business and Society, Gustavson School of Business, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2029002023-03-30T12:27:44Z2023-03-30T12:27:44ZCan this former CEO fix the World Bank and solve the world’s climate finance and debt crises as the institution’s next president?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518289/original/file-20230329-28-7q3t3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C21%2C4848%2C3193&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ajay Banga is expected to become the next World Bank president.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/candidate-to-head-the-world-bank-ajay-banga-gestures-as-he-news-photo/1247854109">Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past two years, a drumbeat of calls for reforming the World Bank has pushed its way onto the front pages of major newspapers and the agenda of heads of state.</p>
<p>Many low- and middle-income countries – the population the World Bank is tasked with helping – are falling deeper into debt and facing growing costs as the impacts of climate change increase in severity. A chorus of critics accuse the World Bank of <a href="https://www.bmz.de/en/news/press-releases/schulze-world-bank-annual-meetings-2022-125264">failing to evolve</a> to <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1258">meet the crises</a>.</p>
<p>The job of leading that reform now falls to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/02/23/biden-world-bank-nomination/">Ajay Banga</a>, an Indian American businessman and former CEO of Mastercard who was nominated by President Joe Biden to replace resigning World Bank President <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/climate/david-malpass-world-bank.html">David Malpass</a>. </p>
<p>Banga, <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/03/30/closing-of-nominations-for-world-bank-group-president">the only candidate</a> for the job, <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/05/03/ajay-banga-selected-14th-president-of-the-world-bank">was confirmed</a> by the World Bank’s <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/directors">executive directors</a> on May 3, 2023. His five-year term as president begins on June 2. </p>
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<img alt="Ajay Banga, wearing a traditional Sikh turban and business suit, gestures as he speaks in front of a photo of workers picking vegetables." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518305/original/file-20230329-16-80inab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518305/original/file-20230329-16-80inab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518305/original/file-20230329-16-80inab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518305/original/file-20230329-16-80inab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518305/original/file-20230329-16-80inab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518305/original/file-20230329-16-80inab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518305/original/file-20230329-16-80inab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ajay Banga is a former Mastercard CEO, past chair of the International Chamber of Commerce and an American. The U.S. is the largest World Bank shareholder, and the institution’s president has historically been American.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/candidate-to-head-the-world-bank-ajay-banga-speaks-during-news-photo/1247898595">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>There is no shortage of advice for what Banga and the World Bank need to do.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-does-g20-do">G-20</a> recently <a href="https://www.dt.mef.gov.it/en/attivita_istituzionali/rapporti_finanziari_internazionali/banche_sviluppo/revisione_indipendente/">issued a report</a> urging the World Bank and the other multilateral development banks to loosen their lending restrictions to get more money flowing to countries in need. A commission led by economists <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/finance-for-climate-action-scaling-up-investment-for-climate-and-development/">Nicholas Stern and Vera Songwe</a> called for a rapid, sustained investment push that prioritizes transitioning to cleaner energy, achieving the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">U.N. sustainable development goals</a> and meeting the needs of increasingly vulnerable countries. </p>
<p>African ministers of finance will soon come out with their own “to do” list for the World Bank, and India’s minister of finance just pulled together <a href="https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/business/2368216-india-has-been-talking-about-how-multilateral-institutions-need-reform-sitharaman">an expert group</a> to consider World Bank reform.</p>
<p>Banga will walk into the job with these and many other to-do lists. Yet he will inherit a corporate culture that makes the World Bank Group <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099845101112322078/pdf/SECBOS0f51975e0e809b7605d7b690ebd20.pdf">too inwardly focused</a> and <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-treasury-secretary-janet-l-yellen-addresses-evolution-development-finance-csis">too slow to respond</a>.</p>
<p>I have <a href="https://fletcher.tufts.edu/people/staff/rachel-kyte">worked for the World Bank Group</a> and with it from the outside. I see four key roles – four “C’s” – that Banga will need to master from the outset. From his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/02/23/biden-world-bank-nomination/">track record</a> and his reputation for deep thoughtfulness, I am confident that he can.</p>
<h2>1) Act as a CEO and get the entire World Bank Group house in order.</h2>
<p>The World Bank Group <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are">is a conglomerate</a> with four balance sheets, three cultures and four executive boards, plus a dispute resolution arm.</p>
<p>Lending to low- and middle-income countries is just part of its role. The World Bank Group also <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd">provides technical assistance</a> across all areas of economic development and invests in and provides <a href="https://www.miga.org/">risk insurance</a> to <a href="https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/about+ifc_new">encourage companies to invest</a> in projects and places they might otherwise consider too risky. Its ability to mobilize private-sector finance and stretch every dollar is crucial for meeting the world’s development and climate adaptation and mitigation needs.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">How the World Bank operates.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Banga will need to set clear goals for each part of the World Bank Group and get them working more effectively to help the world achieve its goals.</p>
<h2>2) Assume the mantle of collaborator in chief to take on the debt and climate crises.</h2>
<p>Many of the World Bank Group’s <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/annual-report/our-work">client countries</a> are facing both mounting debt and rising costs from climate change. </p>
<p>The high <a href="https://developmentfinance.un.org/fsdr2022">cost of borrowing</a> can hamper developing countries’ ability to invest in needed infrastructure to grow and protect their economies, and they fear being locked out of global trade as the United States’ green subsidies in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-new-incentives-for-clean-energy-arent-enough-the-inflation-reduction-act-was-just-the-first-step-now-the-hard-work-begins-188693">Inflation Reduction Act</a> and Europe’s border carbon tax may make it <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-us-eu-trade-tensions-rise-conflicting-carbon-tariffs-could-undermine-climate-efforts-198072">more difficult for them to compete</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/download/the-2022-barbados-agenda/">solutions</a> to cascading problems like these cannot be managed by one institution. However, the current multilateral development bank system – the World Bank Group and the <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/publication/regional-development-banks-abcs-ifis-brief">regional development banks</a> – is disjointed at best <a href="https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/156240/adbi-wp385.pdf">and competitive</a> at worst.</p>
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<p>In the past, the leaders of the development banks, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization have cooperated, more or less, depending on crises and personalities, and can move fast when they need to.</p>
<p>During the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, for example, the then-heads of the World Bank and the WTO hurried to <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd200916_e.pdf">develop trade finance facilities</a> to support banks in developing countries as capital fled to the U.S. and Europe. It took intense diplomacy to push wealthy countries and institutions to get money out the door <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/financial-trade/update-2-global-trade-finance-gap-widens-as-recession-bites-idUSLI4771620090318">to shore up businesses and trade</a>. Success was measured not in months but in days.</p>
<p>The new president of the World Bank will need to support more radical collaboration among development financial institutions, including pooling capital and talent, to help respond quickly to countries’ needs.</p>
<p>It won’t be easy. Institutional rivalries run deep. But with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/us-expects-bidens-nominee-ajay-banga-be-elected-world-bank-chief-2023-03-29">budgets tight</a>, there is growing clarity that there is no choice – <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-putins-war-and-small-islands-are-accelerating-the-global-shift-to-clean-energy-and-what-to-watch-for-in-2023-196925">the capital that is already in the system</a> is the closest at hand and can be deployed to better effect if the institutions are willing to adapt.</p>
<h2>3) Be a convener.</h2>
<p>Overhauling how international finance works will require everyone to be on board – development banks, central banks, regulators, investment banks, pension funds, insurance companies and private equity.</p>
<p>Banga and <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/About">International Monetary Fund</a> Managing Director <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/persons/kristalina-georgieva_en">Kristalina Georgieva</a> can settle institutional differences and present a coordinated face to private investors and the <a href="https://clubdeparis.org/en/communications/page/permanent-members">major lending countries</a>, including China – which has emerged as <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/china-is-owed-37-of-poor-countries-debt-payments-in-2022-world-bank-102463">the biggest holder</a> of developing country debt – to speed up support to struggling countries.</p>
<p>On other issues, such as <a href="https://www.iucn.org/our-work/nature-based-solutions">nature-based solutions to climate change</a>, building resilience and economic inclusion, the World Bank Group can bring its significant resources and skills, including data analysis, to global conversations that it has been painfully absent from for the past four years.</p>
<h2>4) Be a champion for the most vulnerable.</h2>
<p>The world’s most vulnerable people are the World Bank Group’s ultimate beneficiaries. For those living on the front line of biodiversity loss and climate impacts, such as extreme heat, drought and flooding, the current international financial system is proving inadequate.</p>
<p>The World Bank Group’s management incentives are still too oriented to lending approved by the board, not the outcomes of that lending, advice and assistance.</p>
<p>Throughout its history, World Bank leaders have been able to make <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd200916_e.pdf">rapid changes</a> to better help vulnerable countries when they stay close to the needs of their ultimate beneficiaries and the goals that the world has set.</p>
<p>The next president faces turbulent times. Banga’s careful listening on his campaign tour signals that he <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7f1046cc-10fe-4a29-a92b-f0955761477b">understands the complexity</a>. It’s an extraordinary moment in the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/world-bank-groups-role-global-development">history of the institution</a>, with sky-high expectations of what one leader needs to do.</p>
<p><em>This article, originally published March 30, 2023, has been updated with Banga’s approval to become World Bank president.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202900/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Kyte served in several roles at the World Bank Group from 2000 to 2015.</span></em></p>It’s a crucial time for the World Bank, with growing calls for reform and sky-high expectations of what one leader needs to do. A former World Bank official explains the challenges ahead.Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2006222023-03-16T19:57:32Z2023-03-16T19:57:32ZThe Rideau Canal Skateway: How can we promote resilience in the face of a changing climate?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515295/original/file-20230314-1765-t25qdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=279%2C203%2C5363%2C3553&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even if we achieve our global commitment to limit temperature increase to less than 2 C this century, climate change will continue to impact the culturally significant Rideau Canal Skateway.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/history-rideau-canal-skateway">Rideau Canal Skateway</a>, the 7.8 kilometre ice path winding through the Canadian capital city of Ottawa, is a <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/culture/spm-whs/sites-canada/sec02n">National Historic Site of Canada</a> and a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1221">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a>. </p>
<p>This winter, for the first time, the Rideau Canal Skateway <a href="https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/news/ncc-efforts-to-open-the-rideau-canal-skateway-come-to-an-end">did not open</a>.</p>
<p>Although transforming the Rideau Canal waterway into the winter skateway — which typically welcomes more than 21,000 visitors on average per day — requires considerable <a href="https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/blog/rideau-canal-behind-the-ice">engineering and logistical effort</a>, the ice cover growth is ultimately governed by the ambient environmental conditions.</p>
<p>Even if we achieve our <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement">global commitment to limit temperature increase to less than 2 C this century</a>, climate change will continue to impact this culturally significant Canadian heritage site. <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/ar6-syr/">Global warming is known to impact</a> our ecosystems, biodiversity, food security and infrastructure. </p>
<p>Recent studies have observed decreases in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.8068">seasonal duration</a> and area coverage of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0393-5">lake and river ice</a>, with long-term negative impacts projected for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2465">recreational facilities</a>.</p>
<p>And while the National Capital Commission (NCC) has been working towards advancing sustainable adaptation strategies that promote the resilience of such climate change-impacted areas, it needs to be supported with informed decision-making. Our research at Carleton University, in collaboration with the NCC, will establish an adaptive framework to support this strategy.</p>
<h2>Effects of the changing climate</h2>
<p>Since 1971, the average Rideau Canal Skateway season lasted 57 days. Over the past five seasons (2017-22) the average season length dropped down to 47 days. The longest season of 90 days took place in the winter of 1971-72, while the shortest season lasted 29 days in 2021-22. However, last winter, the full 7.8 kilometre stretch of the Skateway was accessible on opening day (Jan. 14, 2022) for the first time in over two decades.</p>
<p>This winter, the Rideau Canal Skateway <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/rideau-canal-skateway-won-t-open-for-1st-time-in-53-year-history-1.6287966">never opened</a>. This can be attributed to warmer temperatures and twice the typical snowfall when compared with the climate normal from <a href="https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html">1981-2010</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Ottawa-Gatineau’s Winterlude festival was delayed by one day due to <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-sun/20230205/281505050370569">extreme cold conditions</a> with a mean temperature of -26 C and average windchill of -34 C on Feb. 4, 2023. This was despite the region experiencing warmer than normal temperatures in 2022-23.</p>
<p>These erratic weather patterns, occurring due to climate change, may become a more significant factor affecting the season start and ice-building processes in the future.</p>
<h2>Sustainable development strategy</h2>
<p>The National Capital Commission, in collaboration with local municipalities and government agencies, established a <a href="https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/our-plans/climate-change-adaptation#doc1">sustainable development strategy</a> to evaluate the risk of climate change effects on infrastructure and heritage buildings, natural resources and parks. </p>
<p>This adaptation strategy has three phases: 1) climate projections, 2) vulnerability and risk assessment and 3) adaptation strategy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Winter in Ottawa." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515301/original/file-20230314-6289-ldh9c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515301/original/file-20230314-6289-ldh9c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515301/original/file-20230314-6289-ldh9c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515301/original/file-20230314-6289-ldh9c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515301/original/file-20230314-6289-ldh9c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515301/original/file-20230314-6289-ldh9c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515301/original/file-20230314-6289-ldh9c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In a high emission scenario, winters in the Ottawa region have been estimated to be five weeks shorter by 2050.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the key findings of the first phase is that, in a high emission scenario, winters in the Ottawa region would be five weeks shorter by 2050 with 35 per cent fewer days below -10 C. The climate projections also estimated a decrease in annual snowfall by 20 per cent with an increase in freezing rain.</p>
<p>An outcome from the second phase was to address the climate hazards impacting infrastructure, heritage buildings, natural resources and parks, like the Rideau Canal Skateway, and advance possible adaptation strategies.</p>
<h2>Multi-disciplinary approach</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/blog/tackling-climate-change-on-the-rideau-canal-skateway">National Capital Commission</a> teamed up with <a href="https://newsroom.carleton.ca/story/rideau-canal-skating-changing-climate/">Carleton University</a> to develop an improved understanding of the climate-related hazards and find potential adaptation strategies to mitigate the effect of climate change and make the Rideau Canal Skateway more resilient.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://carleton.ca/geirg/about/climate-change-effects-rideau-canal-skateway/">multidisciplinary team</a> at Carleton has integrated researchers across the fields of physical geography, cryospheric science, civil and mechanical engineering and remote sensing. In collaboration with the NCC, we have begun a four-year research project with this goal in mind.</p>
<p>This project aims to:</p>
<p>1) improve our knowledge base on the physical environment of the Rideau Canal Skateway</p>
<p>2) use this data to simulate the effects of climate change projected forward over the next 10, 20 and 30 year periods</p>
<p>3) assess what makes the Skateway vulnerable to the effects of climate change</p>
<p>4) conduct pilot studies to evaluate possible adaptation strategies</p>
<p>5) refine and optimize the promising adaptation strategies that can help address the uncertain evolution of climate change in the future</p>
<p>We will explore what promotes ice growth at the beginning of the season when the environmental conditions are more favourable and the ice cover is too thin for supporting conventional equipment and techniques. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1601284163113742336"}"></div></p>
<p>The initial pilot studies will focus on the use of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ski-resorts-are-spending-big-on-snow-making-to-keep-ahead-of-climate-change-44e0931f">snow fans</a> or slush canons to promote ice growth (ice catching), reduced scale autonomous snow blowers (snow management) and heat exchangers, such as thermosyphons, that help cool the water below the ice (thermal management). </p>
<p>A dynamic pathway based on these studies will help the National Capital Commission to implement effective and sustainable adaptation strategies that maintain or improve the current levels of service for the next 30-year window.</p>
<h2>Broader view with global action</h2>
<p>The iconic significance of the Rideau Canal Skateway makes it an integral part of Ottawa’s cultural identity and our project aims to find climate change adaptation strategies to keep this intact.</p>
<p>Underpinning this research is the overarching need for a concerted <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange">global community</a> response to the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/national-adaptation-strategy.html">challenges of climate change</a>. </p>
<p>Such challenges also present <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2022/02/11/the-climate-fight-presents-massive-opportunity-for-businesses-investors/?sh=346331124055">opportunities</a> like economic growth and technology development in the energy transition market, which in turn has other benefits ranging from improved public health to job creation. Leveraging these benefits of <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/top-10-benefits-climate-action">climate action</a> can become the cornerstone of our climate change adaptation strategies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>As part of the NSERC Alliance grant, which leveraged funding from the National Capital Commisssion, the Principal Investigator Shawn Kenny consults with the National Capital Commission on the project outcomes to facilitate knowledge transfer and translation. </span></em></p>Erratic weather patterns occurring due to climate change may become a more significant factor affecting the season start and ice-building processes in the future.Shawn Kenny, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2003502023-03-14T20:58:26Z2023-03-14T20:58:26ZLeveraging digital platforms for public good: Stories of positive impact from India<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514293/original/file-20230308-24-vnq55t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C0%2C3244%2C2448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Waste management workers stand outside a waste processing plant in Bengaluru, India. By formalizing the waste collection process, the 'I Got Garbage' digital platform transformed waste workers into micro-entrepreneurs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Suchit Ahuja)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital platforms such as Uber, Airbnb, WeChat and TaskRabbit have changed the world by creating <a href="https://issues.org/rise-platform-economy-big-data-work/">new economic opportunities</a> through <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/03/thriving-in-the-gig-economy">gig work culture</a> and enabling a <a href="https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/news/sharing-economy-market-2023-understanding-the-impact-of-consumer-demand-on-business-growth-till-2028">sharing economy</a>. However, concerns remain about how these platforms may <a href="https://www.immpressmagazine.com/the-gig-economy-exploitation-of-innovation/">exploit gig workers</a> and customers if driven purely by profit. </p>
<p>While these platforms are great at <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/01/why-some-platforms-thrive-and-others-dont">creating value by bringing buyers, sellers and consumers together</a>, their benefits often don’t transcend to their ecosystem. <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/">They have been criticized</a> for their <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un75/impact-digital-technologies">poor social and environmental impacts</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105528">exclusionary practices</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00081256221094307">digital colonialism</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517221135176">surveillance capabilities</a>.</p>
<p>To leverage the power of platforms for social good, it’s important to design <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/digital-platforms-potential-impact-social-sector-abhishek-modi/">socially-oriented platforms</a> within <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-ecosystem-of-shared-value">ecosystems of shared value</a> that target the UN’s sustainable development goals.</p>
<p>To focus on sustainable development goals, platforms need to change from being exclusively focused on profits and value appropriation, to perceiving themselves as <a href="https://digitalpublicgoods.net/">public goods</a> that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12378">innovate responsibly</a> by co-creating and sharing economic, social and environmental value. </p>
<p>While this is easier said than done, some <a href="https://platformcommons.org/platform/">organizations have begun the process</a>.</p>
<h2>A new non-profit</h2>
<p>Commercial platforms are expected to earn an <a href="https://www.insighteurs.com/platform-economy-digital-business-models/#how-much-of-the-economy-is-a-platform">estimated $60 trillion by 2025</a>. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://platformcommons.org/">Platform Commons Foundation</a> — an Indian non-profit that builds inclusive platforms to address global <a href="https://www.grandchallenges.org/">grand challenges</a> — is focused on creating social value, while economic value is secondary.</p>
<p>The Platform Commons Foundation has launched a number of platforms focused on sustainable development goals such as poverty alleviation, providing quality education and decent work, improving economic growth and reducing inequalities.</p>
<p>One of the Platform Commons Foundation’s many platforms — I Got Garbage — transformed the lives of underpaid and marginalized waste management workers in <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/what-is-the-informal-economy-basics">India’s informal sector</a>, who faced frequent harassment and exploitation, by helping them earn a steady income and a dignified livelihood.</p>
<p>Another platform — Commons.farm — is an agritech platform that provides equitable and accessible services to <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/necessity-of-holistic-development-of-small-marginal-farmer-communities-in-india/">smallholder farmers that face challenges</a> across the agricultural supply chain. </p>
<p>Smallholder farmers make up <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/agri-tech-innovation-can-improve-value-capture-and-transform-ecosystem-for-india-s-small-farmers/">80 to 90 per cent of India’s agriculture</a>. Yet, they own less than five acres of land and usually grow only two crops a year. They are often unable to find buyers for their produce, forcing them to only sell through intermediary controlled markets.</p>
<p>Let’s take a closer look at these platforms.</p>
<h2>Revolutionizing waste management</h2>
<p>I Got Garbage turned the informal waste collection process into a formal process. The platform consists of an ecosystem of <a href="https://www.swmrt.com/">thousands of citizens</a>, <a href="https://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/4561-swmrt-solid-waste-management-guidelines-4561">government and municipal officers</a>, <a href="https://hasirudala.in/">non-governmental organizations</a>, waste worker communities and other institutions. </p>
<p>By formalizing the waste collection process, I Got Garbage transformed waste workers into micro-entrepreneurs who can earn sustainable wages and protect themselves from exploitation. </p>
<p>I Got Garbage did this through several technology interventions. Some of these interventions include the <a href="https://www.northeastern.edu/sei/2018/12/i-got-garbage/">I Got Garbage app</a> that runs on low-cost cellphones, SMS and WhatsApp-based communications in various Indian languages, waste and recycling management planning software, customer service training, providing uniforms and identity badges, geotagging locations for waste pick-up and tracking wages. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women wearing masks and fluorescent worker vests sort through trash on a conveyor belt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Waste workers separate paper and plastic on a conveyor belt in a recycling facility in New Delhi, India in September 2019. The ‘I Got Garbage’ digital platform turned the informal waste collection process into a formal process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I Got Garbage worked with the community of waste workers to understand their problems and gain their trust. It also signed households up for its services via Facebook and SMS/WhatsApp campaigns.</p>
<p>I Got Garbage made a significant impact as it reduced landfill waste by 40 per cent and processed more than 10,000 tons of recycling materials daily in one city. It employed more than 15,000 waste workers and expanded to several cities in less than five years since its inception.</p>
<p>I Got Garbage has led to a revolution of waste management and recycling in India which is set to be <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thebetterindia_cleanestcity-biomethanation-zerowaste-activity-7034484687683084288-9WIP">replicated in 72 countries</a> in Asia and Africa.</p>
<h2>Empowering farmers and preventing suicide</h2>
<p>The Indian agricultural sector suffers the same fragmentation and informal process issues as the waste management sector. </p>
<p>Productivity issues, corruption and supply chain issues within India’s agricultural sector are so stark they have caused a suicide epidemic among debt-ridden smallholder farmers. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/17/opinions/india-farmer-suicide-agriculture-reform-kaur/index.html">Over 10,000 farmers died in 2020 alone</a> according to the government. </p>
<p>The situation was dire and needed intervention at the grassroots level.</p>
<p>The Platform Commons Foundation launched Commons.farm in 2019 to assist farmers and regional governments in and around Bengaluru. The idea was the same as I Got Garbage, except for the revenue model — empowering farmers by connecting them with each other to form co-operatives, resolving agriculture supply chain issues, enabling communication among farmers, governments and markets, and improving social and environmental impact.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A barefooted Indian man walks through a field of crops carrying a bunch of turnips" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An Indian farmer carries turnips after harvesting them from a field in Kanachak village, on the outskirts of Jammu, India in February 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Channi Anand)</span></span>
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<p>This would empower smallholder farmers with digital tools to reduce waste, cut out corruption and communicate directly with suppliers and customers.</p>
<p>The platform obtains its primary revenues <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/14/global-farm-subsidies-damage-people-planet-un-climate-crisis-nature-inequality">from government subsidy programs</a> instead of charging farmers for services. Local and state governments that use Commons.farm receive guaranteed impact outcomes from the money they spend on the platform, which is a fraction of the overall subsidy bill they would otherwise incur.</p>
<h2>Sustainable use of digital platforms</h2>
<p>Platforms like I Got Garbage and Commons.farm that also focus on sustainable development goals are gaining attention. The <a href="https://www.francis-project.eu/">FRANCIS project</a>, for example, hosts open innovation challenges in Europe that involve citizens, scientists and academics. Its aim is to develop affordable innovations that address real-world challenges.</p>
<p>Citizens can join the challenges via the online platform or in face-to-face events. Scientists run workshops during the challenges that offer method training. This project is currently working on a solar disinfection project targeting low- to middle-income households in rural areas, people in refugee camps and micro-entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>The Indian government has also created its own set of public platforms that it calls the <a href="https://indiastack.org/">India Stack</a>. It has built a <a href="https://uidai.gov.in/en/">biometric digital identity platform</a>, a real-time <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/business/india-digital-payments-upi.html">mobile payment platform</a>, a <a href="https://www.exemplars.health/emerging-topics/epidemic-preparedness-and-response/digital-health-tools/cowin-in-india">COVID-19 vaccine records platform</a> and an open and inclusive <a href="https://ondc.org/">e-commerce platform</a>.</p>
<p>Digital platforms can be used as private pipelines that enable monopolies or they can be used as open, inclusive mechanisms <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2022.2105999">leveraged for the public good</a>. </p>
<p>By learning from examples that have leapfrogged common platform pitfalls to focus on the public good, we can move towards an equitable and empowering version of digital transformation. We have the opportunity to emulate these successful examples in our own contexts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200350/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suchit Ahuja receives funding from FRQSC and SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yolande E. Chan receives funding from SSHRC.</span></em></p>To focus on sustainable development goals, platforms need to change from being exclusively focused on profits and value appropriation to perceiving themselves as public goods.Suchit Ahuja, Assistant Professor, Business Technology Management, Concordia UniversityYolande E. Chan, Dean, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2010922023-03-08T00:51:33Z2023-03-08T00:51:33ZGet the basics right for National Environmental Standards to ensure truly sustainable development<p>Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has attracted controversy by <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2023-361383">proposing to update 30-year-old superannuation laws</a> with a definition of the purpose of superannuation as being to fund a dignified retirement. There is a clear lesson here for other reforms to make policy objectives clear, even when they seem obvious. One important example is Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/nature-positive-plan.pdf">Nature Positive Plan</a>.</p>
<p>Plibersek’s department began consulting last week on new National Environmental Standards. She will table these later in the year, along with a bill to replace Australia’s most significant environmental law, the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00182">Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act</a>.</p>
<p>The standards will be the “beating heart” of the reforms. They will set out in some detail just what has to be protected and the circumstances in which development can be approved. It is essential these standards rest on solid foundations, including a clear statement of purpose.</p>
<p>You may be surprised to hear mandatory standards are new territory for environmental laws regulating development. Existing federal and state laws are mostly built around regulatory process and ministerial discretion. Typically, they tell ministers to consider ill-defined principles like “ecologically sustainable development”, but lack any real “bottom line”. </p>
<p>This leads to “black box” decision-making, in which decisions are unpredictable beforehand and opaque afterwards. This lack of transparency does little for the environment, which <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/overview/key-findings">continues to deteriorate</a> due to increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-laws-fail-nature-the-governments-plan-to-overhaul-them-looks-good-but-crucial-detail-is-yet-to-come-196126">Our laws fail nature. The government’s plan to overhaul them looks good, but crucial detail is yet to come</a>
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<h2>Tough calls ahead</h2>
<p>Plibersek faces some tough calls in developing the standards. If strong and clear, they will protect nature and make it harder to get developments approved. But if the standards lack a clear statement of purpose and carry over rubbery phrases and weak offset requirements, then it will be business as usual, freshly wrapped. </p>
<p>For these new standards, we must get the basics right. One basic is to gather enough environmental information to make properly informed decisions. </p>
<p>The government is acting on this need with its plan to set up an independent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/20/labor-to-set-up-independent-environmental-protection-agency-and-restore-trust-and-confidence">environment protection agency</a> (EPA), including a dedicated data division. However, it has yet to put serious money on the table. Making up for lost decades of patchy data gathering will be expensive and time-consuming. </p>
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<h2>Lack of clarity makes for ineffective law</h2>
<p>Another one of the basics is to properly define ecologically sustainable development (ESD) as the foundation of environmental policy. The existing words on ESD in the EPBC Act are hard to divine. They trace their roots to the early 1990s and reflect the state of knowledge, and the compromises, of that era. </p>
<p>In fact, the EPBC Act does not even attempt to define “ecologically sustainable development”. Instead, it requires the environment minister to take into account five “<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00182/Html/Volume_1#_Toc62199513">principles of ecologically sustainable development</a>”. </p>
<p>This disaggregation is part of the problem. Among other things, it forces the minister, in deciding whether to approve the clearing of koala habitat, for example, to consider an obscure principle that “improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted”. </p>
<p>This is a high-level policy principle advocating “market-based instruments”, such as a carbon price. It does not belong in a decision about clearing native vegetation.</p>
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<p>I am now a researcher but in a former life (2007-12) was responsible for the administration of the EPBC Act. I have gone back over several hundred statutory EPBC Act “recommendation reports”. In these reports, environment officials provide formal advice to the minister about whether to approve a development. </p>
<p>I found very few instances where ESD principles made a substantive difference to the advice. It’s not surprising, given the obtuse approach of the legislation to ecologically sustainable development.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/environment-laws-have-failed-to-tackle-the-extinction-emergency-heres-the-proof-122936">Environment laws have failed to tackle the extinction emergency. Here's the proof</a>
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<h2>How to breathe new life into ESD</h2>
<p>That is not to say we should abandon ecologically sustainable development. Properly defined, it can provide an overarching statement as to what environmental laws are designed to achieve and what development can be approved. </p>
<p>In the broad, ecologically sustainable development should mean keeping the environment healthy, so future generations can enjoy the same quality of life as we do. It would follow that development should not harm anything essential to a healthy environment.</p>
<p>It is important that we not simply roll the current principles into the National Environmental Standards without reflection. </p>
<p>One of the principles, the precautionary principle, can stand alone. It’s about risk management, to be applied when environmental knowledge is limited, which is often. It means, in context, that if a development risks serious or irreversible environmental damage, don’t approve it. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-australias-most-important-report-on-the-environments-deteriorating-health-we-present-its-grim-findings-186131">This is Australia's most important report on the environment's deteriorating health. We present its grim findings</a>
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<p>With that done, the central intent of ecologically sustainable development can be met by having the standards require that each decision maintain the diversity of life and the integrity of ecosystems affected by development. Ecological advice would be needed on how to do this in each case. </p>
<p>The gist of such a rule is to keep nature in good working order. That means maintaining viable populations of species and the essentials of ecosystems – their composition, structure and function.</p>
<p>The other three ESD principles deal with policy integration, intergenerational equity and market-based instruments. These principles are important but do not belong in the standards. They should be rehoused in a major policy statement, such as an environmental white paper.</p>
<p>It is often said with regulatory reforms such as the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/nature-positive-plan.pdf">Nature Positive Plan</a> that the devil is in the detail. That can be true, but in this case the devil is more in the basics. Get the basics right, and the rest is just detail.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Burnett held a number of senior leadership positions in the federal Department of Environment from 2000 to 2013. From 2007-12, his responsibilities included administration of the EPBC Act.</span></em></p>Up to now we have had fine-sounding but ultimately ineffectual words. New National Environmental Standards hold the key to finally delivering effective protection for the environment.Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1978722023-03-06T22:10:35Z2023-03-06T22:10:35ZA new UN report offers businesses a template for achieving true sustainability<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513020/original/file-20230301-1707-v9hpo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C10%2C6659%2C4406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In order for corporate sustainability approaches to actually work, they need to be genuine and authentic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/a-new-un-report-offers-businesses-a-template-for-achieving-true-sustainability" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Not a day goes by without hearing about the fragility of our natural ecosystems and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12713">repercussions that extractive economic activity are having</a> on them.</p>
<p>This state of affairs is not recent — it has been ongoing at the very least since <a href="https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-growth/">the Club of Rome non-profit warned us back in 1972</a> that infinite economic growth and rapid demographic development are incompatible with life on Earth.</p>
<p>The situation today is even worse. Despite <a href="https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop">numerous historical conferences</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/04/new-ipcc-climate-report-on-averting-catastrophe/">countless promises</a> to make economic activity more compatible with the capacities of our planet, the environmental progress of the last three decades is not enough to meet the challenges posed by climate change.</p>
<p>While the focus of climate action has often been on greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, we are finally starting to <a href="https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-treaty-un-deal-fails-to-address-the-root-causes-of-natures-destruction-196905">realize the impact of human and industrial activities on biodiversity loss</a>. </p>
<p>Earth’s diminishing biodiversity is exacerbating climate change by inhibiting Earth’s ability to protect and regenerate itself. The services <a href="https://ipbes.net/assessing-knowledge">biodiversity provides us are countless</a>, and the situation remains clear: nature does not need us, but we need it.</p>
<p>We believe a paradigm shift is possible, and that part of this shift will involve the integration of a true sustainability approach in business. But for this approach to work, it needs to be two things: genuine and authentic.</p>
<h2>A landmark report</h2>
<p><a href="https://cdn.unrisd.org/assets/legacy-files/301-info-files/B70382A13E0AE0BDC125841F003C46AC/SDPI---Allen-White-Keynote-Speech.pdf">A true “Brundtland moment”</a> — in reference to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brundtland-Report">landmark 1987 report on sustainable development</a> — is how Global Reporting Initiative co-founder Allen White described the <a href="https://cdn.unrisd.org/assets/library/reports/2022/manual-sdpi-2022.pdf">United Nations’ Authentic Sustainability Assessment report</a>.</p>
<p>White argues that historians will look back on this publication a decade from now as a great historical moment in the trajectory of sustainability. Many other leaders and experts in the sustainability ecosystem agree on <a href="https://sustainablebrands.com/read/new-metrics/un-releases-manual-for-companies-to-conduct-authentic-context-based-sustainability-assessments">the importance and relevance of this report</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A monarch butterfly, with orange wings and black veins, spreads its wings on the stalk of a plant" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513018/original/file-20230301-16-tq9bgn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513018/original/file-20230301-16-tq9bgn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513018/original/file-20230301-16-tq9bgn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513018/original/file-20230301-16-tq9bgn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513018/original/file-20230301-16-tq9bgn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513018/original/file-20230301-16-tq9bgn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513018/original/file-20230301-16-tq9bgn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Earth’s diminishing biodiversity is exacerbating climate change by inhibiting Earth’s ability to protect and regenerate itself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
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<p>Released in November 2022, this report represents the first comprehensive guide to using planetary limits as a reference point in business-oriented sustainability reporting. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1259855">Planetary limits</a> set boundaries that humanity can safely develop and live within, without depleting Earth’s resources.</p>
<p>The report is the <a href="https://r3dot0.medium.com/unrisd-ushers-in-a-new-era-of-authentic-sustainability-assessment-with-the-release-of-its-84a1d6761927">culmination of more than four years of research</a>, consultation and advocacy for a new generation of accountability tools. It is, at its simplest, a commitment to bring organizational sustainability assessment into a new era of authenticity. </p>
<p>At its core, the report argues that current business practices are inauthentic and insufficient for achieving true sustainability.</p>
<h2>Sustainability indicators</h2>
<p>Central to the Authentic Sustainability Assessment report is the concept of <a href="https://sdpi.unrisd.org/platform/">Sustainable Development Performance Indicators (SDPIs)</a>. These indicators measure the sustainability performance of businesses, non-profits and other economic organizations using a new and improved approach.</p>
<p>These indicators move away from the old disclosure approach that relies on the idea of extracting infinite resources from a finite planet. Reports that contain this outdated approach include the <a href="https://www.globalreporting.org/">Global Reporting Initiative</a>, <a href="https://www.sasb.org/">Sustainability Accounting Standards Board</a> and the more recent <a href="https://www.ifrs.org/groups/international-sustainability-standards-board/">International Sustainability Standards Board</a>. </p>
<p>SDPIs take a new approach — one that addresses the underlying conditions that compromise sustainable development. It does this by respecting all planetary limits, whether social, economic or environmental.</p>
<p>Conventional disclosure involves comparing peers in the same industry or geography and disclosing one’s “good” performance in comparison to previous years. </p>
<p>SDPIs, on the other hand, involve comparing companies against a scientifically established, context-based sustainability threshold. </p>
<h2>Sustainability thresholds</h2>
<p>An organization’s sustainability performance is expressed in terms of the organization’s impact on vital assets, like planetary limits and social thresholds, compared to sustainability standards. This ensures the well-being of all stakeholders — human and nature alike — that contribute to social, economic and environmental balance.</p>
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<img alt="A crowd of people in suits look at a large screen that says 'S&P TSX composite index' on it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513019/original/file-20230301-16-sfctap.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513019/original/file-20230301-16-sfctap.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513019/original/file-20230301-16-sfctap.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513019/original/file-20230301-16-sfctap.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513019/original/file-20230301-16-sfctap.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513019/original/file-20230301-16-sfctap.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513019/original/file-20230301-16-sfctap.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Stock markets are increasingly requiring publicly traded companies to disclose their sustainability performance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>According to the report, it is by comparing <em>actual</em> impacts with <em>normative</em> impacts that true sustainability can be assessed.</p>
<p>Take water, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-report-half-the-world-is-facing-water-scarcity-floods-and-dirty-water-large-investments-are-needed-for-effective-solutions-175578">an increasingly scarce commodity</a>, for example. An organization reducing its water consumption by 35 per cent or saving the most water compared to its competitors does not actually tell us anything about the sustainability of that water consumption.</p>
<p>An organization could be the best at saving water in its industry and still perform poorly in terms of sustainability. Sustainability is not measured by effort, but by the capacity of ecosystems — like planetary limits, pollution and biodiversity — to avoid jeopardizing the resilience of the planet.</p>
<p>Instead, SDPIs recommend comparing water consumption to the capacity of ecosystems and to the actual water needs of living species. It is this balance between actual consumption and resource availability, in light of ecosystem capacity, that will determine the true sustainability of an organization.</p>
<h2>Achieving true sustainability</h2>
<p>As time goes on, businesses will be increasingly required to disclose their sustainability impacts. This will be the case for large European companies starting in 2024, following the enactment of the <a href="https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en">Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive</a>. </p>
<p>Stock markets are also moving in this direction, forcing publicly traded companies to disclose their sustainability performance in the <a href="https://sseinitiative.org/esg-disclosure/">United States</a> and <a href="https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/business-and-accounting-resources/financial-and-non-financial-reporting/sustainability-environmental-and-social-reporting/publications/a-primer-for-environmental-social-disclosure">Canada</a>. </p>
<p>The widespread and concerted adoption of SDPIs around the world can, as part of this growing momentum of disclosure of sustainability performance, foster authentic sustainability that will bring us closer to meeting the magnitude of the challenges ahead.</p>
<p>We must be collectively ambitious and take advantage of the relevance and originality of these new indicators, which offer a new trajectory towards achieving authentic sustainability.</p>
<p><em>Ghani Kolli, Managing Partner at Credo Impact, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sofiane Baba's research projects are regularly funded by MITACS, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) and The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).</span></em></p>Recent advancements in the ways organizations measure sustainability performance could lead to a truly authentic approach to sustainability in the business sector.Sofiane Baba, Professeur adjoint en management stratégique, Université de Sherbrooke Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1982472023-02-14T13:41:41Z2023-02-14T13:41:41ZWhat is Mondiacult? 6 take-aways from the world’s biggest cultural policy gathering<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508369/original/file-20230206-21-8bineg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">hadynyah/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Culture’s status in global society got a major boost in 2022 when it was recommended to become its own sustainable development goal. This happened at the Unesco World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – called <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/mondiacult2022?TSPD_101_R0=080713870fab2000a09e1f590eee9236224b49b65b35b132c616cc394977b0a02ac2e62027c474a20861e610e0143000765baf2107ff32468755177504b7b9a252592c01e65570cbe751e36ef19eb1605e90d2f17ad9e80a512b2762ca6cb961">Mondiacult</a>. The world’s most important cultural policy gathering took place in Mexico City 40 years after its first edition in the same city. The 2022 meeting gathered 2,600 participants including 135 government ministers, 83 non-governmental organisations, 32 intergovernmental organisations and nine UN agencies. </p>
<p>Mondiacult is important because it’s a decision-making meeting that helps shape the world’s cultural policies and especially the relationship between culture and development. What was clear is that there is a shift in this relationship. Culture does not only contribute to sustainable development but is one of development’s components. </p>
<p>Culture aids <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">sustainable development goals</a> in areas like health, education and environment. For example, local customs and traditional knowledge are relevant in promoting health programmes. Local and traditional products are useful for sustainable production. Indigenous knowledge helps develop environmental practices to fight climate change. </p>
<p><a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable development goals</a> – like clean water and quality education – are the United Nations (UN) blueprint for a better future for all. At Mondiacult, culture was raised to the status of being its own sustainable development goal. A careful reading of the <a href="https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2022/10/6.MONDIACULT_EN_DRAFT%20FINAL%20DECLARATION_FINAL_1.pdf">final declaration</a> offers several reasons why:</p>
<h2>1. Culture can fight climate change</h2>
<p>Culture can contribute to the reduction of climate change’s negative impact. Ecological organisations and other stakeholders are now interested in discovering the usefulness of cultural practices and other local know-how to preserve the environment. Ancient communities faced climate crises and developed their own resilient practices rooted in cultural heritage. That is why concepts like indigenous knowledge systems have emerged. </p>
<h2>2. Digital must be ethical</h2>
<p>The transition from analogue to digital has become an important aspect in the production, distribution and consumption of cultural and creative goods and services. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the value of digital and online spaces. Augmented reality, for example, enables exploring museum collections from a phone or computer. Virtual reality enables the visiting of historical monuments. Blockchain technology and artificial intelligence have grown hugely, but bring new ethical concerns. Which is why Unesco has adopted a set of <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380455_fre.locale=fr">recommendations</a> on the ethics of artificial intelligence.</p>
<h2>3. Cultural diversity matters</h2>
<p>Our world is made of many different cultures. Acknowledging and accepting this cultural diversity is an ethical imperative, in Mondiacult 2022’s view. For the cultural ministers gathered in Mexico City, cultural diversity is the “founding principle of all of Unesco’s cultural conventions, recommendations and declarations. It cannot be separated from respect for human dignity and all fundamental human rights.” </p>
<h2>4. Cultural objects must be returned</h2>
<p>Another “ethical imperative” is the return of cultural assets to countries that they were looted from. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/benin-bronzes-what-is-the-significance-of-their-repatriation-to-nigeria-171444">Benin bronzes</a> case is a good example – ancient cultural objects stolen from Nigeria by colonial forces who are now slowly returning them. This restitution is crucial because it is supposed to “promote the right of peoples and communities to enjoy their cultural heritage … to strengthen social cohesion and the intergenerational transmission of cultural heritage”. It would be morally unfair to deny restitution, according to Mondiacult 2022. </p>
<h2>5. Culture is a global public good</h2>
<p>Culture is “our most powerful global public good”, <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382082_eng">wrote</a> Unesco official Ernesto Ottone:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Today, more than ever, we need to find meaning, we need universality, we need culture in all its diversity. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Culture is reaffirmed as the “existential foundation” of humanity in this period of multiple crises on the planet. Now that a high-level meeting like Mondiacult has affirmed that culture is a public good, it must be preserved in the same way as the environment is.</p>
<h2>6. Culture is a development goal in itself</h2>
<p>Most significant is a new momentum to give culture a central place in the global development agenda. Before Mondiacult, Unesco’s aim was to convince the world’s policymakers that culture can <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000371557.locale=fr">contribute</a> significantly to achieving sustainable development goals. Now, Mondiacult 2022’s ambitious final <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/mondiacult-2022-states-adopt-historic-declaration-culture?TSPD_101_R0=080713870fab2000f74c4eb59493c567f3e18b1c8872e37ae64990e839cf3668f57e49286fb9f65f08249d61f71430003d79c69a210fba638ee45377843ff76e26f08becf03cf6dff247f25bfdb1b4b06649a8fba6fb9883fadb4106e6dc9543">declaration</a> affirms:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We call on the UN secretary general to firmly anchor culture as a global public good and to integrate it as a specific goal in its own right in the development agenda beyond 2030.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The cultural goal is to achieve “more harmony between peoples and communities”. This could involve the promotion of cultural diversity, the return of cultural assets, increased budgets for creative activities and other policies. </p>
<h2>Why this matters</h2>
<p>If the UN adopts this option of culture being a sustainable development goal, the post-2030 sustainable development agenda will have new content. This will change how development agencies deal with culture and how universities teach the relationship between culture and development. The result could be more funding for culture, which is increasingly underfunded by governments. </p>
<p>In addition, making cultural diversity an “ethical imperative” should play a role, if possible, in discussions about the commercialisation of cultural goods and services and the digital transition. </p>
<p>Next to come will be Mondiacult’s conditions of implementation. This is a follow-up action plan that should mobilise stakeholders to embrace Mondiacult’s outcomes ahead of the 2024 UN <a href="https://www.un.org/en/common-agenda/implementation">Summit of the Future</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198247/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The huge gathering of policymakers focused on culture’s crucial role in sustainable development.Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse, Associate Professor, University of Kinshasa Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1932122022-10-25T19:03:32Z2022-10-25T19:03:32ZAustralia is poised to be a world leader in offshore wind, but any potential risks to marine life remain poorly regulated<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491530/original/file-20221025-17-bzssus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C20%2C4473%2C2970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The strong winds blowing over Australia’s rugged coastlines will soon power many of our homes, as offshore wind farms are poised to begin construction. But our <a href="https://www.ogel.org/journal-advance-publication-article.asp?key=728">new research</a> highlights the need to ensure any potential risks to marine life is properly mitigated. </p>
<p>The federal government has recently made a string of announcements as part of its A$20 billion <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/rewiring-nation-supercharge-victorian-renewables">Rewiring the Nation Plan</a>, ahead of last night’s federal budget. This includes $1.5 billion to fast-track the development of offshore wind farms and renewable energy zones in Victoria, as well as funding for the Marinus link (an electricity cable connecting Tasmania and Victoria), and pumped hydro developments.</p>
<p>By embracing what the energy world calls the “<a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/news-releases/2021/offshore-wind-presents-energy-advantages-as-part-of-growing-australian-blue-economy">big three</a>” – offshore wind, solar power and onshore wind power – Australia’s renewable energy exports alone could be worth <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/labors-climate-bill-must-be-a-springboard-for-action/#:%7E:text=The%20economic%20opportunities%20for%20a,Australia's%20existing%20fossil%20fuel%20exports.">$333 billion</a> each year. That’s almost triple what we currently get from fossil fuels. </p>
<p>Our research calls for Australia to put marine spatial planning processes into offshore wind regulation. This considers how infrastructure and ecosystems can co-locate, by mapping out the best sites for generating the most electricity with the least environmental impact.</p>
<p>With effective regulation, Australia’s offshore wind industry can be a leader in ecologically sustainable development.</p>
<h2>Why is offshore wind important?</h2>
<p>Over the past decade, the costs to build offshore wind infrastructure have <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-3/">decreased by 50%</a> worldwide. It is poised to become a key ingredient in Australia’s energy mix, as the <a href="https://gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Annual-Wind-Report-2022_screen_final_April.pdf">Global Wind Energy Council</a> estimates a massive 4,963 gigawatts of offshore wind potential in Australia.</p>
<p>In fact, if all of Australia’s proposed offshore wind projects were built, their combined energy capacity would be <a href="https://theconversation.com/wind-turbines-off-the-coast-could-help-australia-become-an-energy-superpower-research-finds-164590">greater than</a> all Australia’s coal-fired power stations. </p>
<p>Victoria is leading the way with a target of reaching 2 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2032, and 9 gigawatts by 2040. This means some <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/australia-needs-more-offshore-wind-projects-to-lure-suppliers-20220922-p5bk6x">20% of Victoria’s energy mix</a> will come from clean, affordable and reliable offshore wind within the next ten years.</p>
<p><a href="https://arena.gov.au/renewable-energy/wind/">Despite our rich wind resources</a>, there is currently no large-scale offshore wind project operating in Australia, due to a lack of legal framework <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021A00120">that commenced operation in 2022</a>. Australia also does not currently hold a federal offshore wind target. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Wind turbine under construction" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491531/original/file-20221025-11-eyhnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Underwater noise during the construction of offshore wind turbines can displace marine animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Australia’s lack of regulation</h2>
<p>Australia has lack of clear offshore renewable energy planning goals. This has led the <a href="https://gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Annual-Wind-Report-2022_screen_final_April.pdf">Global Wind Energy Council </a> to call for “a clear, transparent, and streamlined leasing and permitting process” in Australia. </p>
<p>The environmental protections currently in place are generic and need greater refinement on the needs of offshore wind. </p>
<p>Before an Australian offshore wind project can start and be granted a commercial licence, the developer must make several important assessments and proposals, including a <a href="https://www.nopsema.gov.au/offshore-renewable-energy">management plan</a>, to the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar.</p>
<p>This management plan must adhere to Australia’s national environment law, which is designed to promote ecologically sustainable development. </p>
<p>Yet, Australia’s environment law – called the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00182">Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act</a> – has been widely criticised for failing to achieve this aim, particularly following a major <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-major-report-excoriated-australias-environment-laws-sussan-leys-response-is-confused-and-risky-154254">independent review</a> in 2021. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-major-report-excoriated-australias-environment-laws-sussan-leys-response-is-confused-and-risky-154254">A major report excoriated Australia's environment laws. Sussan Ley's response is confused and risky</a>
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<h2>How offshore wind farms can impact marine life</h2>
<p>Marine spatial planning can provide clear ecological, social and environmental conservation objectives, while mapping important ecological zones to protect. </p>
<p>Research is still emerging on the extent offshore wind farms may impact marine ecosystems. A <a href="https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-icm/products/etc-icm-reports/etc-icm-report-2-2022-mapping-potential-environmental-impacts-of-offshore-renewable-energy">European Environment Agency</a> report this year points to a few potential impacts, although these are documented in Europe rather than Australia. </p>
<p>This includes underwater noise during construction, which can displace some species, cause auditory injury to nearby mammals and fish, and interfere with the echolocation of animals such as porpoises.</p>
<p>Research has also shown that during operation, some seabird species became either displaced or attracted to the turbines (though collision rates are low).</p>
<p>On the other hand, depending on its design, offshore wind turbines can provide habitat for some marine species, such as with artificial reefs on their foundations.</p>
<p>These pressures can be managed by effective marine spatial planning. Australia holds marine spatial planning processes for other areas, such as the <a href="https://www.sprep.org/attachments/Publications/articles/marine-spactial-planning-great-barrier-reef.pdf">Great Barrier Reef Marine Park</a> and parts of <a href="https://www.marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/marine/marine-spatial-planning">Victoria</a>. </p>
<p>But we are yet to create any requirements for them in the legal framework for offshore wind at the federal level. </p>
<h2>Countries doing it better than us</h2>
<p>Several countries have enacted marine spatial planning policies and regulations for their offshore wind sectors. </p>
<p><a href="https://maritime-spatial-planning.ec.europa.eu/">The European Union</a> has led the way, as 22 <a href="https://maritime-spatial-planning.ec.europa.eu/msp-practice/countries">coastal member states</a> have adopted marine spatial planning processes. This strong policy framework has enabled the EU to reach 28.4 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity while ensuring environmental protections <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014L0089&from=EN">are in place</a>. </p>
<p>The Netherlands have an ambitious offshore wind target of 70 gigawatts by 2050. This is double what the entire EU <a href="https://www.offshorewind.biz/2022/09/19/the-netherlands-sets-70-gw-offshore-wind-target-for-2050-plans-large-scale-green-hydrogen-production-and-energy-hubs/#:%7E:text=The%20Dutch%20Government%20has%20set,could%20be%20installed%20by%202040.">has already installed</a>. </p>
<p>The Netherlands is using marine spatial planning to sustainably meet this target. It is supported by the Dutch Ecological Offshore Wind Energy Programme, which is generating <a href="https://www.noordzeeloket.nl/functies-gebruik/windenergie/ecologie/wind-zee-ecologisch-programma-wozep/newsletter-wozep/wozep-newsletter-1/wozep-research/#:%7E:text=Sitemap-,Wozep%20research%20programme%20investigates%20the%20ecological%20impact%20of%20offshore%20wind,develop%20the%20appropriate%20mitigation%20measures">baseline scientific knowledge</a> about how to protect sensitive marine environments in assessments determining new project sites. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wind-turbines-off-the-coast-could-help-australia-become-an-energy-superpower-research-finds-164590">Wind turbines off the coast could help Australia become an energy superpower, research finds</a>
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<h2>One piece of the puzzle</h2>
<p>Marine spatial planning is crucial for integrating offshore wind with other ways we use the ocean, such as for fishing and preserving traditional Sea Country. At the same time, it should preserve ecosystems and promote energy justice, where all members of society are granted access to clean energy. Marine spatial planning can strike this balance. </p>
<p>Formulating marine spatial planning objectives in consultation with the offshore wind industry, communities, and other stakeholders is crucial to ensure its success, and building an equitable ocean economy.</p>
<p><a href="https://powerup.climatecouncil.org.au/">Much more must be done</a> to ensure we continue a successful transition away from fossil fuels and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Offshore wind is just one, exciting piece of the puzzle. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-ways-the-albanese-government-can-turn-australia-into-a-renewable-energy-superpower-without-leaving-anyone-behind-183640">3 ways the Albanese government can turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower – without leaving anyone behind</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madeline Taylor has received funding from ACOLA and the AIEN. She is a Climate Councillor for the Climate Council and is on the Management Committee for RE-Alliance. The author would like to acknowledge Riley Taylor and his co-authorship of the research produced.</span></em></p>Australia must map out the best sites for generating the most electricity with the least environmental impact.Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1886582022-08-19T03:12:54Z2022-08-19T03:12:54ZIndonesia’s COVID-19 recovery plan relies on dirty energy, making it harder to hit environmental targets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479322/original/file-20220816-26-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The coal-fired Suralaya power station in Banten, Indonesia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Source: Asep Fathulrahman/Antara)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted Indonesia’s economy. This crisis, which has also hit many other countries, is a consequence of the massive cessation of economic activities due to restrictions to suppress COVID-19 case numbers.</p>
<p>Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia is now trying to help its economy rebound to pre-pandemic levels or even higher through its <a href="https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/indonesia-achieve-covid-19-recovery-climate-targets.pdf">National Economic Recovery (PEN) program</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this recovery program relies heavily on fossil fuels to meet the country’s energy needs. This needs to change, as economic recovery should be in line with Indonesia’s climate commitment to <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Indonesia_LTS-LCCR_2021.pdf">achieve net-zero emissions by 2060</a>. </p>
<p>Indonesia is already among the world’s <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.GHGT.KT.CE?locations=ID&most_recent_value_desc=true">biggest greenhouse gas emitters</a>. Without aggressive efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase cleaner and renewable energy capacity, Indonesia’s COVID recovery program could actually create more problems.</p>
<h2>Recovery without sustainability</h2>
<p>Indonesia’s support for the use of fossil fuels is reflected by the allocated funds, reaching about <a href="https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/indonesia-achieve-covid-19-recovery-climate-targets.pdf">8% of the total National Economic Recovery budget</a>. </p>
<p>The economic recovery program has 15 strategic measures to support the energy sector. Most of those measures are likely to benefit the fossil fuels industry, instead of the new and renewable energy industry. </p>
<p>The most significant funding allocated to the energy sector, <a href="https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/indonesia-achieve-covid-19-recovery-climate-targets.pdf">Rp 95.3 trillion</a> or around US$6.4 billion, has been given to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) linked to fossil fuel energy, including oil and gas firm Pertamina, power firm PLN, airline company Garuda Indonesia, and train operator KAI, to support their businesses.</p>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/indonesia-achieve-covid-19-recovery-climate-targets.pdf">Rp 13.1 trillion</a> or US$886 million is disbursed to subsidise electricity for poor households, predominantly generated from burning coal. </p>
<p>In 2020, the Indonesian Government also continued the yearly subsidies of Rp 97.3 trillion or US$6.5 billion for different types of fossil energy, such as electricity, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and gasoline.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473804/original/file-20220713-12-qngxgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473804/original/file-20220713-12-qngxgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473804/original/file-20220713-12-qngxgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473804/original/file-20220713-12-qngxgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473804/original/file-20220713-12-qngxgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473804/original/file-20220713-12-qngxgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473804/original/file-20220713-12-qngxgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The trillions of rupiah budgeted as subsidies and support funds for fossil fuels in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Source: IISD)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In contrast, the National Economic Recovery program only specified a subsidy for one type of renewable energy, biodiesel. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, support for other types of new and renewable energy is mentioned, but without details on the allocation of funds or programs. For example, the recovery program says it supports incentives for the installation of rooftop solar power panels for private customers. However, the implementation of this support is unclear.</p>
<p>Policies supporting fossil fuels are an instant way to ramp up the economy. However, this could come back to hit Indonesia’s economy and Earth’s sustainability in the medium to long-term. </p>
<p>A recent example is a surge in world oil prices that reached <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/our-addiction-fossil-fuels-driving-inflation">US$100 per barrel</a> as an effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This rise has caused <a href="https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1605075/subsidi-bbm-dan-elpiji-sentuh-rp-75-triliun-sri-mulyani-minta-pertamina-ikut-kendalikan">the Indonesian government to dither</a> about allocating funds for gasoline and LPG subsidies. Consequently, the surge in oil prices has <a href="https://www.idxchannel.com/economics/harga-bahan-pokok-hingga-kenaikan-bbm-picu-lonjakan-inflasi">increased the prices of other goods and services</a>. </p>
<p>Increased industrial activities are also associated with poor air quality, especially in urban areas. Recently, Switzerland-based air quality watchdog IQAir recorded Jakarta as <a href="https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20220622113910-4-349279/jakarta-dapat-kado-ulang-tahun-kota-polusi-terburuk-dunia">the most air-polluted city in the world</a>.</p>
<p>Indonesia’s strong dependence on fossil fuels has long hindered the growth of clean energy. Before the COVID-19 crisis, <a href="https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2021-indonesia-insights.pdf">more than 90% of Indonesia’s total energy demand</a> was supplied by fossil fuels, with <a href="https://www.iea.org/countries/indonesia">coal use rising much faster</a> than any other energy source. </p>
<p>If this trend continues, Indonesia is less likely to achieve its net-zero emissions target in 2060.</p>
<h2>Balancing energy security and energy transition</h2>
<p>The Indonesian government needs to review its energy strategy transition so that <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Indonesia_LTS-LCCR_2021.pdf">its net-zero emissions target</a> and national economic recovery can both be attained.</p>
<p>The government also needs to harness environmentally-friendly technologies and a multitude of new and renewable energy resources. </p>
<p>The government needs to take advantage of environmentally-friendly technologies and renewable energy with the potential to promote sustainable development. </p>
<p>In the industrial sector, carbon capture and storage technology could be applied to store carbon dioxide underground at a <a href="https://www.iea.org/commentaries/is-carbon-capture-too-expensive">relatively low cost</a>. This cost of this technology for the industrial sector with highly concentrated carbon dioxide streams is cheap.</p>
<p>Through this technology, industries with high energy demands could potentially continue to run on fossil fuels in the short to medium term with a lower carbon footprint. As a result, carbon capture and storage may help in minimising the pressure on renewable energy growth for heavy sectors during the early phase of energy transition.</p>
<p>The government also needs to provide support for reliable and inexpensive clean energy sources. Geothermal, hydro and nuclear energy are all types of clean. In addition, the excellent <a href="https://www.irena.org/costs/Power-Generation-Costs/Geothermal-Power">geothermal</a> and <a href="https://www.irena.org/costs/Power-Generation-Costs/Hydropower">hydro</a> energy resources in Indonesia are considerable and low-cost. Although nuclear power plants have very high upfront capital expenditure, they are <a href="https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/economic-aspects/economics-of-nuclear-power.aspx">relatively cheap to run</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474226/original/file-20220715-11-tq724j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474226/original/file-20220715-11-tq724j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474226/original/file-20220715-11-tq724j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474226/original/file-20220715-11-tq724j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474226/original/file-20220715-11-tq724j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474226/original/file-20220715-11-tq724j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474226/original/file-20220715-11-tq724j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Solar power technicians carry out routine maintenance at PT Sanghiang Perkasa (KALBE Nutritionals) factory in Cikampek, West Java, Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Source: Yulius Satria Wijaya/Antara)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/17/5424">abundant sunshine</a> and decreasing costs of solar panels are the main drivers for harnessing solar energy in Indonesia, mainly to supply electricity for homes and office buildings.</p>
<p>Last but not least, Indonesia should develop energy storage technology such as batteries, pumped storage hydro power and hydrogen to ensure reliable renewable energy supply.</p>
<p>The government could implement the above recommendations gradually while taking strategic measures related to financing and supporting policies. In this instance, the government should increase subsidies for the renewable sector to stimulate the market growth for cleaner energy in society and industry.</p>
<p>The government can source the funding needed by cutting current high subsidies for fossil fuels and implementing a carbon tax, particularly for high-emitting industries.</p>
<p>In addition, Indonesia, which currently holds <a href="https://g20.org/">the G20 presidency</a>, has a strategic position to attract domestic and foreign stakeholders to invest in Indonesia’s low-carbon technology and renewable sector.</p>
<p><em>Zalfa Imani Trijatna has translated this article from Indonesian languange</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188658/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denny Gunawan is affiliated with the Energy Commission, Directorate of Research and Studies, and Overseas Indonesian Students' Association Alliance (PPI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisa Wahyuni is affiliated with the Energy Commission, Directorate of Research and Studies, and Overseas Indonesian Students' Association Alliance (PPI).</span></em></p>Policies supporting fossil fuels are an instant way to ramp up the economy. However, this could come back to hit Indonesia’s economy in the medium to long-term.Denny Gunawan, PhD Candidate, ARC Training Centre for the Global Hydrogen Economy, Particles and Catalysis Research Laboratory, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1878382022-08-15T20:03:46Z2022-08-15T20:03:46ZIn a year of sporting mega-events, the Brisbane Olympics can learn a lot from the ones that fail their host cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478647/original/file-20220811-21-5amk0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5568%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Brisbane 2032 Olympic organising committee board</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren England/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a year of <a href="https://newsmobile.in/articles/2021/12/30/five-major-sporting-events-to-look-forward-to-in-2022/">major sporting events</a> – the Commonwealth Games, the FIFA World Cup, cricket’s T20 World Cup, the Winter Olympics – conversations on greening such events are more essential than ever. While the Brisbane Olympics are a decade away, lessons from events like these need to be applied from the start to maximise the benefits of the city’s transformation for the 2032 Games. Good planning can produce a positive environmental legacy for years to come.</p>
<p>In recent years, the focus on the impacts of such events on host cities, specifically the environmental impacts, has sharpened. As the costs of environmental degradation and climate change mount, Olympic plans must adapt to the host city’s sustainable development or redevelopment, as opposed to the city being developed around the Olympics. </p>
<p>Of course, these considerations are not new. Sustainability has been established as the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/101269000035003004#:%7E:text=The%20IOC%20declaration%20that%20environmental,the%20development%20of%20environmental%20protection.">third pillar of the Olympics</a> since the 1990s. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/leaner-cost-effective-practical-how-the-2032-brisbane-games-could-save-the-olympics-162606">Leaner, cost-effective, practical: how the 2032 Brisbane Games could save the Olympics</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what has been achieved so far?</h2>
<p>Past Olympic hosts have tried to reduce their environmental impacts. Whether it’s planting trees to offset carbon emissions, cleaning up rivers, recycling materials to reduce waste, increasing public transport use, or using renewable energy, host cities have been making efforts and claims to be green for years. </p>
<p>And yet behind each host’s proclaimed success lies a multitude of shortcomings.</p>
<p>For example, host cities often need to improve or redevelop their transport systems. Most development projects in the past have been Games-specific rather than focused on improving the city for residents. The priorities are usually in areas most impacted by the event, so often don’t match residents’ ongoing needs.</p>
<p>We saw this in Rio de Janeiro, host of the 2016 Olympics. Projects were constructed in poorly planned locations with limited transport access. Only <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-07/what-japan-learned-from-olympic-white-elephants/100329488">15 of the original 27 venues</a> hosted some sort of post-Olympics event. Others became deteriorating white elephants.</p>
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<p>In London, multiple projects such as the Crossrail project were <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/analysis-london-2012-infrastructure-legacy-or-a-costly-waste/r4q3kqpsv">postponed</a> before the 2012 Olympics. Residents’ needs were downgraded. </p>
<p>One must also wonder how the Olympics can be environmentally friendly when so many resources are diverted or newly invested in projects dedicated to an event lasting a couple of weeks at most.</p>
<p>Some Games, such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, did <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/legacy/beijing-2008/olympic-blue">improve aspects such as air quality</a> that benefited all residents. However, these improvements were short-term, which is typical among host cities. Even for this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics, where organisers used renewable energy, retrofitted venues and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00321-1">considered a range of emissions</a>, a more holistic approach would have improved outcomes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reduce-re-use-recycle-how-the-new-relaxed-olympic-rules-make-brisbanes-2032-bid-affordable-156100">Reduce, re-use, recycle: how the new relaxed Olympic rules make Brisbane’s 2032 bid affordable</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What would a holistic approach look like?</h2>
<p>Host cities haven’t been approaching design, planning and hosting in the most comprehensive and sustainable way. They have tended to focus on the obvious tip-of-the-iceberg environmental impacts. However, many other issues are lurking beneath the surface, with interrelated knock-on effects. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic of full range of environnmental impacts of a mega-event – the obvious tip-of-the-iceberg issues and the hidden ones beneath the surface." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=649&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=649&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479056/original/file-20220815-50243-ifj9vd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=649&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Event organisers typically target the obvious environmental issues – the tip of the iceberg – neglecting the hidden impacts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Drawn by Manudi Periyapperuma</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, planting trees (as Beijing did) can help offset emissions and establish new habitat. However, it has been <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/19/1081657319/winter-olympics-environmental-impact">reported</a> that the clearing of habitat in Songshan National Nature Reserve to house the National Alpine Ski Centre could affect vulnerable species. Planting trees as offsets does not excuse such irreversible impacts.</p>
<p>To host truly environment-friendly events, cities must consider the whole picture of emissions, resource consumption, waste production, transport links, habitat impacts and more. This requires a <a href="https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/systems-thinking-can-help-build-sustainable-world-beginning-conversation/">system-thinking approach</a> that considers the life cycle of the product or project. It means planning where construction takes place, which venues can be retrofitted or recycled, what materials are used and where they are sourced. It also means deciding how construction projects will be powered and, ultimately, ensuring the resources invested in projects are not wasted after the event. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic comparing traditional thinking based on simple cause and effect and systems thinking, based on a complex web of interactions." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479061/original/file-20220815-56152-g64qfl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Systems thinking is built on the understanding that every element, aspect or action is part of a constantly evolving web of interactions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://thesolutionsjournal.com/2018/07/08/systems-thinking-can-help-build-sustainable-world-beginning-conversation/">Adapted from M. Seibert (2018)/Solutions</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the 2000 Olympics, Sydney <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/legacy/sydney-2000/environmental-efforts">set the standard</a> by:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>using materials with low environmental impacts and minimised waste</p></li>
<li><p>using solar power for venues and Olympic villages</p></li>
<li><p>conducting life-cycle assessments of environmental emissions and resource consumption</p></li>
<li><p>designing infrastructure to <a href="https://library.olympics.com/default/digitalCollection/DigitalCollectionAttachmentDownloadHandler.ashx?parentDocumentId=43227&documentId=166681&skipWatermark=true&skipCopyright=true">maximise energy-efficiency</a> and more. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>How can Brisbane do better?</h2>
<p>So, how can Brisbane build on <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/legacy/sydney-2000/sydney-2000-games-of-environmental-responsibility-and-inclusion">Sydney’s success</a>? The detailed planning is still being resolved, but Brisbane’s more holistic approach gives the city a head-start. Its “climate-positive” commitment has <a href="https://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/publications/categories/reports/assets/2032-qld-games-economic-analysis-summary-report-final.pdf">four core principles</a>:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>repurposing and upgrading existing infrastructure</p></li>
<li><p>encouraging residents to change behaviours and be more environmentally conscious</p></li>
<li><p>implementing pollution and waste management incentives</p></li>
<li><p>better transport planning.</p></li>
</ol>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HqZ4H6fcJ90?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of the Brisbane 2032 master plan.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The master plan isn’t simply responding to selected environmental issues. Instead, Brisbane is on the path to a climate-positive Games through a combination of:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>integrating public transport services</p></li>
<li><p>strategically locating venues across Queensland – 80% of the venues already exist</p></li>
<li><p>ensuring community needs across the state are met</p></li>
<li><p>investing in innovative solutions such as a sustainable hydrogen industry</p></li>
<li><p>promoting policy and behavioural changes to help solve deep-rooted issues.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>However, Brisbane needs to go further by committing to life-cycle assessments of Olympic projects and following up on promised outcomes over the years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-brisbane-olympics-are-a-leap-into-an-unknowable-future-164933">The Brisbane Olympics are a leap into an unknowable future</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>One shortcoming stands out in particular. Energy consumption and sourcing are not among the core principles for hosting the Olympics. Even if Brisbane were to achieve a zero-emissions event by using renewable energy, that doesn’t cover emissions from the next ten years of construction. And Queensland is still <a href="https://www.qao.qld.gov.au/reports-resources/reports-parliament/managing-queenslands-transition-renewable-energy">a mostly coal-powered state</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pie charts showing sources of energy generated in Queensland and breakdown of renewable generation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479055/original/file-20220814-59235-gpzhuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More than 80% of energy generated in Queensland in 2020–21 was from fossil fuels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.qao.qld.gov.au/reports-resources/reports-parliament/managing-queenslands-transition-renewable-energy#h2-4">Source: Queensland Audit Office analysis</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brisbane is treating the Olympic Games as a platform for urban development that can transform how we travel, integrate multiple urban centres across South-East Queensland, and result in lasting changes to policies and behaviours. These goals stem from the importance of leaving a climate-positive legacy that will last.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article would not have been possible without the research assistance of Manudi Periyapperuma and the funding support of UQ’s 2022 Global Change Youth Research Program.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Halog does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Planning has begun for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and already it’s clear the city has learned from the mistakes of other hosts, but its plans to be truly sustainable have one glaring weak point.Anthony Halog, Lecturer/Research Group Leader in Industrial Ecology and Circular Economy, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1884142022-08-12T15:21:56Z2022-08-12T15:21:56ZExpanded access to solar power in Africa can stimulate economic development – but there are risks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478250/original/file-20220809-26-nhjwpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The African Energy Commission says expanded access to new, people-centred renewable energy systems will "lift hundreds of millions of people" out of poverty.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/solar-energy-madagascar-1266559546">KRISS75/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">UN Sustainable Development Goal 7</a> aspires to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. But in Africa, <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/sdg7-data-and-projections/access-to-electricity">around 600 million people</a> continue to live without access to electricity. Seeking to reach as many of these people as quickly as possible, African governments are signing agreements with foreign firms to deliver off-grid solar products to millions of households.</p>
<p>British firm Bboxx, for example, has an <a href="https://www.bboxx.com/news/bboxx-partners-drc-government/">agreement</a> with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to deliver solar home systems (SHSs) to 10 million citizens by 2024. SHSs consist of one or more panels, usually installed on household roofs, capable of providing up to <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/609a53264723031eccc12e99/t/60ed5fe04616123fc5fa6287/1626169341119/White+Paper+%E2%80%93+Beyond+the+energy+approach+for+sustainable+development+in+Africa.pdf">300 watts of power</a>. This is sufficient to power laptops, televisions, LED lights, and – in certain models – refrigerators and cooking.</p>
<p>Underpinning this process is the belief that expanded access to off-grid solar can drive economic development by strengthening household income. According to the African Energy Commission, the process will <a href="https://au-afrec.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/4%20AFREC%20Designing%20the%20African%20Energy%20Transition.pdf">“lift hundreds of millions of people”</a> out of poverty. </p>
<p>Do these claims stand up to interrogation?</p>
<h2>Increased income, increased risk</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629622001773">recent study</a>, Patrick Lehmann-Grube, an independent researcher, and I reviewed 56 papers that focused on how access to off-grid solar energy impacts household income in Africa. Initially, the available evidence appears to provide strong support, with almost all the papers finding a positive effect.</p>
<p>This was largely based on the finding that SHSs enabled local stalls and kiosks to stay open longer by operating beyond nightfall. The <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/657061523044450044/pdf/125039-REPL.pdf">testimony</a> of a Kenyan fruit and vegetable seller is typical. After the addition of a SHS, she reported being able to add “two more hours of trading each day”. Across the studies, additional work hours allowed household income to increase by around US$20–£40 (£17-£33) per month.</p>
<h2>Workers’ greater capacity for self-exploitation</h2>
<p>Existing studies generally cite working longer hours as a marker of economic progress. Yet this finding is ambiguous since increased income here is achieved through a greater capacity for self-exploitation. Given the physical limits to the length of a working day, these observed increases can only lead to a limited economic gain.</p>
<p>For economic development to be strengthened and sustained, it must be incorporated into a process of increased productivity. This should be achieved by an increasing output per unit of labour time – not simply via people working longer hours or more people working – and supported by an accumulation of capital.</p>
<p>Existing studies tend not to focus on these dimensions, leaving the true economically transformative nature of off-grid solar products unclear. The low energy capacity of SHSs should, nonetheless, caution against any great enthusiasm that they can generate such transformative economic progress.</p>
<h2>Short-term gains, long-term losses?</h2>
<p>The shift of energy provision via SHSs away from centralised public governance and towards a privatised model has in many instances also shifted the financial burden of maintenance onto local communities. Several studies noted that the maintenance costs for off-grid solar products often surpass what rural households and communities can afford.</p>
<p>Yet most studies focus on the short-term impact, usually within a couple of years of a household or firm gaining access to off-grid solar. Short-term income gains will prove fruitless in the future, however, should communities be unable to assure maintenance of the equipment.</p>
<p>Several studies also documented the recent introduction of a pay-as-you-go model. The model aims to extend low-wattage solar products to income-poor rural African households, who are often unable to afford the full upfront cost. Already, pay-as-you-go solar firms are beginning to push a <a href="https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mobile-for-Development-Utilities-The-Value-of-Pay-as-you-go-Solar-for-Mobile-Operators.pdf">range of other products</a> to their clients, such as irrigation pumps and appliance leasing.</p>
<p>This strikes a further note of concern, as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03056244.2019.1614552?journalCode=crea20">studies</a> on financial technology (or fin-tech) services have demonstrated their frequent association with rising indebtedness. Indebtedness constrains rather than liberates households, a process hardly conducive to economic development.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A ground-mounted solar power plant in a small community with a forest in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478267/original/file-20220809-24-o4j68c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478267/original/file-20220809-24-o4j68c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478267/original/file-20220809-24-o4j68c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478267/original/file-20220809-24-o4j68c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478267/original/file-20220809-24-o4j68c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478267/original/file-20220809-24-o4j68c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478267/original/file-20220809-24-o4j68c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mini solar grids are capable of powering entire rural communities or urban suburbs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ground-mounted-solar-power-plants-africa-785800000">Sebastian Noethlichs/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can off-grid solar still drive economic development?</h2>
<p>One solution to the limited economic impact of increased access to SHSs would be to focus on the provision of mini grids. Capable of powering entire rural communities or urban suburbs, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X08003288">research</a> demonstrates that they support a far larger range of activities, extending into productive and industrial use.</p>
<p>Another avenue will be through developing domestic capacity in the design and manufacture of off-grid solar power. This carries the potential to generate productive employment and help <a href="https://oecd-development-matters.org/2021/01/04/europe-and-africa-need-to-see-eye-to-eye-on-climate-change/">stimulate a shift</a> towards industrial development.</p>
<p>Here, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030142151300013X">Kenya</a> has been a frontrunner through the selective use of strategic industrial policy. Many other countries, such as <a href="https://www.ace-taf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Assessment-of-Local-Manufacturing-of-Off-Grid-Solar-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-Policy-Brief.pdf">Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda</a>, are looking to follow suit.</p>
<p>Existing studies have proved adept at identifying households who appear to have financially benefited from access to off-grid solar through increased income. But they have been less well attuned to the downsides. </p>
<p>Alongside rising indebtedness, these include the more general processes of polarisation, marginalisation and exclusion that <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/african-economic-development-9780198832331?cc=ie&lang=en&">inevitably accompany</a> any process of capitalist economic development.</p>
<p>If, as Brazilian economist Celso Furtado <a href="https://archive.org/details/accumulationdeve0000furt">once wrote</a>, capitalist development is “a process of reshaping social relations founded on accumulation”, future research would do well to focus on how social relations are being reshaped by off-grid solar expansion – and with what consequences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188414/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Radley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Are studies right that expanded access to off-grid solar products has driven economic development in Africa?Ben Radley, Lecturer in International Development, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1872492022-07-27T16:00:43Z2022-07-27T16:00:43ZWe must rethink the way we build along the St. Lawrence River<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474705/original/file-20220718-68563-2ywvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C35%2C5838%2C3952&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Riverbanks are reinforced to reduce flood risks, but these techniques reduce biodiversity and limit public accessibility.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The St. Lawrence River is immeasurably rich. <a href="https://wwf.ca/stories/5-amazing-facts-about-the-st-lawrence-river/">Draining a quarter of the planet’s freshwater reserves</a>, it forms one of the largest ecosystems in the world.</p>
<p>Since time <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-lawrence-river">immemorial, its navigation has played a major role</a> in the cultural, economic and social development of the continent. Today it is the main common heritage landmark of Indigenous people, descendants of the first European settlers and the newcomers inhabiting the region.</p>
<p>However, the <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/2986?lang=en">privatization of its shoreline for residential, commercial and industrial purposes</a> — the main driver of urbanization in eastern North America — continues to undermine future generations. Centred on a logic of exploitation that is exclusive to the richest, privatization causes significant ecological disturbance and considerable risk-management costs for the Québec government. <a href="https://www.planstlaurent.qc.ca/en/">Public access to the river is clearly inadequate</a>.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em>This article is part of our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr/topics/fleuve-saint-laurent-116908">The St. Lawrence River: In depth</a>.
Don’t miss new articles on this mythical river of remarkable beauty. Our experts look at its fauna, flora and history, and the issues it faces. This series is brought to you by <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr">La Conversation</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The future of the river is in the hands of all citizens. We need a wide-reaching project that includes all those concerned: national, provincial and municipal governments, the scientific community, civil society, businesses, as well as the local and trans-local communities that live along the river. My colleagues and I have proposed a project, called Fluvialities, that meets the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal15">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals</a>, as well as the principles of human rights and <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html">Indigenous Peoples’ rights</a>.</p>
<p>Led by a group of researchers and professionals at the Université de Montréal, of which I am a member, the Fluvialities project of the <a href="https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2019/10/25/the-unesco-chair-in-urban-landscape-at-universite-de-montreal-builds-bridges/">UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape</a> brings together scientific and citizen knowledge to identify and implement concrete actions over the next decade, across the entire St. Lawrence watershed, but focusing more on inhabited areas near the banks of the river.</p>
<p>The project will develop a number of landscape and ecosystem design strategies, which address ecosystem integrity and sustainability. It also aims to re-examine constitutional, legislative and regulatory frameworks, as well as the social norms, that define our collective relationship to this vast expanse of water.</p>
<h2>Flooding and erosion</h2>
<p>In recent years, climate change has increased the risk of flooding along the river and its tributaries, due to rising sea levels and increasing rainfall throughout the river basin. In an effort to reduce flood risks, riverbanks have been reinforced. But the stabilization techniques that protect private land and industrial sites from water level fluctuations reduce biodiversity and limit public accessibility.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of houses along a riverbank" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473652/original/file-20220712-30699-qtvy73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473652/original/file-20220712-30699-qtvy73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473652/original/file-20220712-30699-qtvy73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473652/original/file-20220712-30699-qtvy73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473652/original/file-20220712-30699-qtvy73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473652/original/file-20220712-30699-qtvy73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473652/original/file-20220712-30699-qtvy73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Riprap stabilization and riverbank protection techniques along the St. Lawrence River reduces the shorlines’ biodiversity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/">global temperatures continue to increase to 1.5 C or 2 C above pre-industrial levels</a>, sea levels will also rise. Building residential neighbourhoods and industrial sites near shorelines puts many lives at risk from flooding, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06827-x">could cause billions of dollars in property damage</a>.</p>
<p>All municipalities along the river will be affected, either directly or indirectly, by rising water levels.</p>
<p>In addition, a phenomenal amount of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ocean-pollution-seafloor-junk-bay-of-fundy-study-1.5360145">debris and chemicals are spread by the flow, polluting not only the river ecosystem</a>, but also the land and the groundwater in the catchment area. This accelerated process of riverbank erosion threatens a growing number of natural riverine habitats, promoting landslides and the release of toxic substances into the environment.</p>
<p>This is now well known among researchers and policymakers. However, despite <a href="https://www.planstlaurent.qc.ca/en/">excellent work</a> to assess the many risks and propose development strategies to mitigate them, there is currently no project that has a long-term development vision for the entire St. Lawrence River.</p>
<p>It therefore essential that current and future knowledge on natural and human risks be implemented quickly. We must radically rethink our relationship with the St. Lawrence River habitat, from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.</p>
<h2>A global trend</h2>
<p>The first project of its kind in the world, Fluvialities, initiated in 2021-22, is part of an <a href="https://living-with-rivers.com/en/">overall trend towards worldwide governance of major rivers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473651/original/file-20220712-26-jbm29t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473651/original/file-20220712-26-jbm29t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473651/original/file-20220712-26-jbm29t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473651/original/file-20220712-26-jbm29t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473651/original/file-20220712-26-jbm29t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473651/original/file-20220712-26-jbm29t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473651/original/file-20220712-26-jbm29t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View of Montréal from the South Shore. Like Montrealers, the majority of Québec residents live on the banks of the St. Lawrence River.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are inspired by such projects as “<a href="https://archive.arch.ethz.ch/studio-basel/publications/books/switzerland-an-urban-portrait.html">Switzerland: an Urban Portrait</a>”, by Studio Basel, research on the <a href="https://submarinechannel.com/lagos-wide-close/">metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria, led by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas</a>, the School of the Anthropocene, led by French geographer Michel Lussault, and Italian urban planner Paola Viganò’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2GvZAWwew4">vision for a horizontal metropolis</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T2GvZAWwew4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Italian urbanist Paola Viganò’s vision for a horizontal metropolis.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These approaches echo a growing practice in the field of urban planning and landscape architecture. By tackling societal challenges on several levels, these disciplines are now generating solutions that benefit society and the environment while promoting economic development. Projects drawn from this knowledge are more likely to reach sustainability goals.</p>
<h2>A multidisciplinary network</h2>
<p>Through 2023-24, Fluvialities will be the subject of an initial consolidation phase. We aim to build a network of university researchers, non-profit organizations, representatives of local communities and companies concerned about the future of the river.</p>
<p>We expect to hold an initial public consultation on citizens’ aspirations in 2024-25. This is inspired by interactive democracy exercises on environmental issues recently <a href="https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr/en/">conducted in France</a> and <a href="https://www.climateassembly.uk">the United Kingdom</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, we are building a digital atlas of the river’s scientific, social and cultural knowledge. These activities will include university and college teaching activities based on a research-creation approach where students participate in the process.</p>
<p>Educational teams of local and international experts will conduct planning and development workshops on different sections of the river as well as on comparable international contexts.</p>
<p>The sustainable and inclusive development of the St. Lawrence River deserves our attention. If its development continues in its current form, it will have a negative consequences for the people and the environment of North America. We must put in place a transnational strategy for the inclusive and sustainable development of the river and our society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187249/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shin Koseki ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The sustainable and inclusive development of the St. Lawrence River is essential. A prolonged laissez-faire attitude will have harmful consequences on people and the environment.Shin Koseki, UNESCO Chair Professor in Urban Landscape, Université de MontréalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1849202022-07-12T12:33:13Z2022-07-12T12:33:13ZWhat the controversial 1972 ‘Limits to Growth’ report got right: Our choices today shape future conditions for life on Earth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473446/original/file-20220711-19-jg3tta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1500&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Image of Earth's city lights, created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-image-of-earths-city-lights-was-created-with-data-from-news-photo/1594390">NASA/Newsmakers via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The 1970s launched an <a href="https://environmentalhistory.org/20th-century/seventies-1970-79/">environmental reckoning</a> across the U.S. Spurred by rising public concern, corporations and national leaders pledged to protect resources, and created new laws and agencies to lead that effort.</p>
<p>Amid these discussions, a group of <a href="https://archive.org/details/limitstogrowthr00mead">researchers at MIT</a> tackled a far-reaching question: How long can humanity keep growing and consuming at its current rate? </p>
<p>Using computer modeling, they came up with <a href="https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-growth/">an ominous answer</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“If the present growth trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food production, and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometime within the next one hundred years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Their report, “<a href="https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-growth/">The Limits to Growth</a>,” generated widespread controversy when it was published in 1972. It was an intellectual extension of biologist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stanford-University">Paul Ehrlich’s</a> thesis in his 1968 bestseller “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb">The Population Bomb</a>,” which predicted that aggregate world demand for resources, driven by population growth, would lead to future starvation. Some predictions in “The Limits to Growth” were impressively accurate, while others proved to be way off. </p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lfkXE9kAAAAJ&hl=en">environmental economist</a>, I tend to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-cost-of-climate-change-cant-be-boiled-down-to-one-right-number-despite-some-economists-best-attempts-176432">skeptical that any one model</a> can explain how the global economy operates at a single point in time, let alone predict global conditions in 2100. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, I believe “The Limits to Growth” got a larger point right: Humans must limit and soon reduce their aggregate production of greenhouse gas emissions. The authors anticipated the potential for the world’s economy to shift to cleaner sources of energy, noting that “If man’s energy needs are someday supplied by nuclear power instead of fossil fuels, this increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide will eventually cease, one hopes before it has had any measurable ecological or climatological effect.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing world growth declining radically" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473448/original/file-20220711-12-xctoxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A figure from ‘The Limits to Growth,’ with consumption continuing at the 1970 rate. Depletion of nonrenewable resources leads to a collapse of industrial production, with growth stopping before 2100.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Limits-to-growth-figure-35.svg">YaguraStation/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Extrapolating resource use</h2>
<p>The MIT <a href="https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-growth/">research team</a> that produced “The Limits to Growth” focused on five basic factors that they claimed determined, and therefore ultimately limited, growth on Earth: population, agricultural production, natural resources, industrial production and pollution.</p>
<p>They hypothesized that a growing economy eventually devours its finite supplies of natural resources. If aggregate demand for resources such as wood, oil, rubber, copper and zinc increases as the world’s population grows and per capita income rises, they forecast that the world will eventually run out of these precious resources. </p>
<p>At its heart, this is an extrapolation exercise. If developing nations such as India catch up by the year 2035 to the U.S level of average income in the year 2000, the argument goes, then the average person in India in 2035 will consume the same quantity of natural resources as the average American did in 2000. This approach assumes that we can foresee a developing nation’s future consumption patterns by looking at consumption patterns in a rich country today. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="World map showing nations' GDP per capita in 2020" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473449/original/file-20220711-22-l70ka6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wealth per capita varies widely around the world. Richer nations have much higher per capita resource consumption.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://ourworldindata.org/economic-growth">Our World in Data</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Economists respond</h2>
<p>Economists have tended to be more optimistic that ongoing economic growth can slow population growth, accelerate technological progress and bring about new goods that offer consumers the services they desire without the negative environmental consequences associated with past consumption. </p>
<p>The Limits to Growth mindset implicitly assumes that our menu of consumption choices does not really change over time. Consider the vehicle market: In the year 2000, one could not buy a Tesla or Chevy Volt to get around without consuming fossil fuel. </p>
<p>A typical economist would argue that Elon Musk invested in Tesla because he anticipated rising demand for high-quality electric vehicles. In this sense, the belief that we could run out of oil helps us to adapt to expected scarcity by accelerating innovation. </p>
<p>Why? If the Limits to Growth hypothesis is correct, then future gas prices will soar as aggregate demand devours our finite supply of resources. And as gas prices rise, so will future demand for electric vehicles.</p>
<p>This point applies to more than cars. In a 1992 reassessment of “The Limits to Growth,” Nobel laureate <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2018/nordhaus/facts/">William Nordhaus</a> argued that rising aggregate demand for natural resources traded in markets, such as oil, wood and copper, will lead to rising prices. This scarcity signal will encourage buyers to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2534581?seq=1">substitute other products</a> for increasingly expensive resources. </p>
<p>Economists tend to be optimistic that we can always find substitutes for resources that are becoming increasingly scarce. “The Limits to Growth” implicitly assumed that such possibilities were limited. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1147950913698639873"}"></div></p>
<p>For-profit firms constantly design new products to attract consumers. Some goods, such as smartphones, may <a href="https://www.getorchard.com/blog/environmental-impact-of-the-iphone/?amp=1">deplete natural resources</a>. But others have smaller environmental footprints than the products they replace, and those eco-benefits <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=27989">can help attract customers</a>.</p>
<p>For example, affluent people today are choosing to eat less red meat <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2014.976890">to improve their health</a>. Innovative firms are designing “<a href="https://impossiblefoods.com/">fake meat</a>” to cater to those consumers. If more consumers substitute fake meat for meat, then the <a href="https://foodprint.org/blog/climate-change-report/">perverse environmental impacts</a> of global caloric intake decline. </p>
<p>“The Limits to Growth” emphasized population and income growth as key determinants of resource collapse. But worldwide, as people move to cities and their earnings rise, they tend to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w29948">marry later and have fewer children</a>. Nobel laureate <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1992/becker/facts/">Gary Becker</a> argues that choosing to have fewer children represents prioritizing quality over quantity of children. Such household choices help to <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/12/11/why-the-demographic-transition-is-speeding-up">reduce aggregate population growth</a> and defuse the “population bomb.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pUbHGI-kHsU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Copenhagen offers a model for sustainable urban development, with a goal of carbon neutrality by 2025.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The limits that matter today</h2>
<p>Today, <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2022/02/28/pr-wgii-ar6/">scientists</a> and <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2582051/defense-secretary-calls-climate-change-an-existential-threat/">policymakers</a> widely agree that climate change is an overriding challenge worldwide. But the risk isn’t running out of resources. Rather, it is warming Earth drastically enough to produce heat waves, wildfires, floods and other impacts on catastrophic scales.</p>
<p>The standard economic policy prescription for cutting greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change is adopting a <a href="https://www.carbontax.org/where-carbon-is-taxed-overview/">carbon tax</a>. This gives consumers an incentive to use less fossil fuel and businesses an incentive to produce better low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles and green power. </p>
<p>If every nation enacted a carbon tax that rises over time, then economists would be confident that we could avoid the most severe negative effects of global economic growth. Why? A great race would unfold, with carbon emissions per dollar of global gross domestic product declining faster than economic growth would rise and global emissions declining. </p>
<p>The vast majority of economists believe that <a href="https://lantpritchett.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Basics-legatum-paper_short.pdf">economic growth</a> is essential for improving the lives of billions in the developing world. As people invest in their education and urbanize, economic logic predicts that population growth will slow. And energy efficiency will increase if energy prices are rising over time, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/003355399556188">due to induced innovation</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children stand in line in a slum, carrying large plastic jugs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473452/original/file-20220711-24-a2ls8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children stand in line to receive free water distributed by the Kenyan government in Nairobi, April 7, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/children-queue-with-their-jerrycans-to-fill-them-with-free-news-photo/1209347550">Gordwin Odhiambo/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Climate scientists are analyzing <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1917-2022">how much nations must reduce their aggregate emissions</a> to avoid climate change on a catastrophic scale. Ideally, climate mitigation policies can be fine-tuned to balance ongoing global per capita income growth while staying within the aggregate emissions constraints prescribed by climate science research. </p>
<p>Since the full costs of runaway climate change aren’t known, many economists have embraced the idea of reducing carbon emissions as <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691171326/climate-shock">insurance against extreme climate risks</a>. Call it a “limit to carbon growth.” Ongoing efforts to invest in climate change adaptation, and nascent efforts to explore the potential of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-007-9174-8">geoengineering</a>, provide humanity with additional strategies for coping with the consequences of our past carbon growth.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew E. Kahn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A 1972 report warned that unchecked consumption could crater the world economy by 2100. Fifty years and much debate later, can humanity innovate quickly enough to avoid that fate?Matthew E. Kahn, Provost Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855802022-06-29T19:55:33Z2022-06-29T19:55:33ZAustralia can help ensure the biggest mine in PNG’s history won’t leave a toxic legacy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471307/original/file-20220628-17-gv5xbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C0%2C5988%2C4016&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID pandemic slowed mining operations across the Pacific. But as economic activity returns, an Australia-based company is poised to pursue what would be the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/08/plan-for-largest-mine-in-png-history-appears-to-disregard-human-rights-un-says">largest</a> mine in Papua New Guinea’s history. </p>
<p>The vast gold and copper project, known as the Frieda River mine, would also include a hydroelectric plant and a dam with a storage capacity for around <a href="https://friedariver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chapter-5-Description-of-the-Proposed-Development.pdf">4.6 billion tonnes</a> of mine tailings and waste rock.</p>
<p>The project is awaiting approval by the PNG government. However, locals, conservationists and experts say it could cause catastrophic harm to one of the world’s most important river systems and should not proceed as proposed.</p>
<p>Australia is PNG’s largest development partner. As resource extraction expands across the Pacific, the new Labor government is well placed to help our neighbours ensure mining activity doesn’t harm people or the environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="man prepares food over fire" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471318/original/file-20220628-13-k3n6bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471318/original/file-20220628-13-k3n6bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471318/original/file-20220628-13-k3n6bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471318/original/file-20220628-13-k3n6bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471318/original/file-20220628-13-k3n6bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471318/original/file-20220628-13-k3n6bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471318/original/file-20220628-13-k3n6bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The project threatens catastrophic harm to one of the world’s most important river systems, and the people who depend on it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Remote, unstable terrain</h2>
<p>The Frieda River mine is <a href="https://friedariver.com">proposed by</a> Brisbane-based, Chinese-owned company Pan Aust. </p>
<p>The project centres on the Frieda River copper-gold deposit located in the tropical mountain ranges of northwest PNG.</p>
<p>The river flows into the Sepik River Basin, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5065/%20%C2%A0%20%20%C2%A0">one of</a> the world’s great river systems. It’s the largest unpolluted freshwater system in New Guinea and among the largest freshwater basins in the Asia-Pacific. </p>
<p>The Frieda River deposit was discovered in the 1960s. It lies in extremely remote terrain, along the Pacific Ring of Fire which is prone to seismic activity.</p>
<p>The mine would produce tailings (or waste materials) containing sulphide, which turns into sulphuric acid when exposed to oxygen. For this reason, the tailings must be permanently covered by water.</p>
<p>The proposed mine’s location, high in the mountains, means a tailings accident could devastate the entire Sepik River Basin.</p>
<p>About 430,000 people depend on the Sepik River and nearby forests for their livelihood. The proposal has <a href="https://savethesepik.org/campaign/frieda-river-mine/">galvanised</a> massive opposition from both locals and others.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-push-into-png-has-been-surprisingly-slow-and-ineffective-why-has-beijing-found-the-going-so-tough-140073">China's push into PNG has been surprisingly slow and ineffective. Why has Beijing found the going so tough?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="people in boat on grey river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471074/original/file-20220627-15980-ag1u74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471074/original/file-20220627-15980-ag1u74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471074/original/file-20220627-15980-ag1u74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471074/original/file-20220627-15980-ag1u74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471074/original/file-20220627-15980-ag1u74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471074/original/file-20220627-15980-ag1u74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471074/original/file-20220627-15980-ag1u74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Villagers travelling along PNG’s Fly River which is choked by tailings from the Ok Tedi mine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Downplaying the risks</h2>
<p>In 2020, ten independent experts including myself, were commissioned by PNG’s Centre for Environmental Law and Community Rights to individually review the project’s “<a href="https://friedariver.com/eis/">environmental impact statement</a>”. The work was undertaken pro bono. </p>
<p>I’m an experienced gold exploration geologist and environmental scientist. In my <a href="https://savethesepik.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5.-Michael-Main-Geological-and-social.pdf">review</a>, I found the statement downplayed or obscured the proposal’s extraordinary level of risk. </p>
<p>First, it omitted a report by design engineers that analysed the extreme consequences of dam failure. </p>
<p>Second, the main report failed to mention the dam would need an intensive inspection and maintenance regime “in perpetuity”. In other words, a potentially toxic dam in a remote part of a very poor country requires highly skilled and experienced professionals to maintain it – not just for the 33-year life of the mine, but forever.</p>
<p>Our reports <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio-australia/programs/pacificbeat/un-human-rights-experts-raise-concerns-over-frieda-mine/12716156">prompted</a> a group of UN Special Rapporteurs to write <a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TmSearch/Mandates?m=27">letters of concern</a> to the governments of PNG, Australia, China and Canada, where companies involved in the joint venture have ties.</p>
<p>The letters said the mine’s development appeared to “disregard the human rights of those affected … given the nature of the project it could undermine the rights of Sepik children to life, health, culture, and a healthy environment, including the rights of unborn generations.”</p>
<p>The Conversation contacted Pan Aust for a response to these claims. In a statement, the company said it was “respectfully engaged in the Government of Papua New Guinea’s approvals process” and as such, it was inappropriate to provide a public comment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/destitution-on-australias-hardening-border-with-png-and-the-need-for-a-better-aid-strategy-135038">Destitution on Australia's hardening border with PNG – and the need for a better aid strategy</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="villagers sit in hall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471319/original/file-20220628-13-5luxdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471319/original/file-20220628-13-5luxdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471319/original/file-20220628-13-5luxdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471319/original/file-20220628-13-5luxdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471319/original/file-20220628-13-5luxdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471319/original/file-20220628-13-5luxdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471319/original/file-20220628-13-5luxdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The UN said the mine’s development seemed to disregard the human rights of those affected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>New safeguards are needed</h2>
<p>Inadequate consideration of a mine’s social and environmental impact is rife cross the Pacific. And PNG provides many examples of the catastrophes that can result.</p>
<p>Tailings from BHP’s <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/new_guinea_forests/problems_forests_new_guinea/mining_new_guinea/ok_tedi_forest_new_guinea/">ill-fated Ok-Tedi mine</a>, located in the same mountain range as the proposed Frieda River mine, severely damaged nearby rivers. </p>
<p>And environmental damage from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/11/panguna-mine-at-centre-of-bloody-bougainville-conflict-set-to-reopen-after-30-years">Panguna copper mine</a> was a key factor in community unrest and the Bougainville civil war.</p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720338973">research</a> into governance of mining in PNG found government agencies were under-resourced, leaving “companies as effectively self-regulating”. </p>
<p>Proponents of mining in PNG frequently cite its contribution to economic development. But for the benefits to be realised, resources must be extracted in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="large open cut mine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471527/original/file-20220629-15-a8rbm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471527/original/file-20220629-15-a8rbm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471527/original/file-20220629-15-a8rbm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471527/original/file-20220629-15-a8rbm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471527/original/file-20220629-15-a8rbm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471527/original/file-20220629-15-a8rbm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471527/original/file-20220629-15-a8rbm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Panguna copper mine, which triggered major civil unrest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ilya Gridneff/AAP</span></span>
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<p>New laws are needed to ensure resource extraction projects in PNG don’t cause long-lasting social and environmental damage. This should include mandatory, transparent and independent reviews of projects. </p>
<p>Australia has extensive experience with environmental regulation of mining projects and can assist in this regard. Such assistance should be delivered in a way that strengthens relations between Australia and PNG, and <a href="https://devpolicy.org/publications/reports/DFAT-AusAIDIntegrationReview-FullVersion.pdf">empowers and equips</a> the smaller nation. </p>
<p>Sustainable development for our Pacific neighbours is in Australia’s strategic interests. Australian companies often benefit significantly from resource extraction in PNG, creating an extra responsibility to ensure better outcomes.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brutal-war-and-rivers-poisoned-with-every-rainfall-how-one-mine-destroyed-an-island-147092">A brutal war and rivers poisoned with every rainfall: how one mine destroyed an island</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Main was one of ten independent expert reviewers of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Sepik Development Project and advises on resource extraction projects in the Pacific.</span></em></p>The project threatens catastrophic harm to one of the world’s most important river systems, and the people who depend on it.Michael Main, Visiting Scholar, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1852632022-06-21T11:49:35Z2022-06-21T11:49:35ZHere’s how to meet Biden’s 2030 climate goals and dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions – with today’s technology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469358/original/file-20220616-12-7eyqlg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C948%2C630&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Clean energy and electric vehicles are key to a successful energy transition.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/electrification-futures.html">NREL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Unprecedented forest fires in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/grim-2022-drought-outlook-for-western-us-offers-warnings-for-the-future-as-climate-change-brings-a-hotter-thirstier-atmosphere-182640">drought-stricken western United States</a>. Tropical storms and rising seas threatening the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Sizzling heat across large swaths of the country. As climate change unfolds before our eyes, what can the U.S. do to sharply and rapidly reduce <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-country">its share</a> of the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing it?</p>
<p>The Biden administration <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gas-pollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-good-paying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-on-clean-energy-technologies/">has committed</a> to reduce those emissions 50% by 2030 below 2005 levels. That’s a critical first step of a global energy transition that <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/net-zero-ghg-emissions-questions-answered">must achieve net-zero</a> emissions by midcentury to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) and thereby avert the worst impacts of climate change.</p>
<p>Twenty years ago, I would have regarded the U.S. 2030 pledge as crazy talk. But a new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn0661">study in the journal Science</a> that I co-authored, which compares results from six independent analyses conducted by academic, industry and nongovernmental organization researchers, lays out a road map to the 50% target that’s both doable and affordable.</p>
<p>So, what’s changed since the early 2000s?</p>
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<img alt="Two EVs being charged in a driveway" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469366/original/file-20220616-16-nnk0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469366/original/file-20220616-16-nnk0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469366/original/file-20220616-16-nnk0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469366/original/file-20220616-16-nnk0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469366/original/file-20220616-16-nnk0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469366/original/file-20220616-16-nnk0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469366/original/file-20220616-16-nnk0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ramping up renewable energy production is crucial for the shift to electric vehicles to pay off.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-electric-car-and-a-plug-in-hybrid-car-charge-at-a-public-news-photo/1180954684">Sean Gallup/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Back then it seemed that without major policy measures, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would continue to rise indefinitely. However, inexpensive natural gas and falling costs of solar and wind power, combined with some modest state and federal renewable energy programs, resulted in a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2020">more than 20% reduction</a> in annual emissions between 2005 and 2020. </p>
<p>With that reduction under our belts, reaching the 2030 target will require a further reduction of about 37% from current levels. That puts the target closer, but it’s still a bigger drop in 10 years than the U.S. achieved over the past 15 years.</p>
<p>Our study shows that by exploiting declining costs of zero- and low-carbon energy sources in a more aggressive and focused way, the U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn0661">can meet its target within eight years</a> – all while substantially reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, including <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">high-priced gasoline</a>, and cutting back the air pollution, climate and health impacts resulting from their combustion.</p>
<h2>A new road map for the US energy transition</h2>
<p>While there are differences among the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn0661">six analyses in our study</a>, all find that most of the needed emissions reductions – about 70% to 90% – can come from the electric power and transportation sectors. These can be achieved through a further transition to solar and wind power as costs for those technologies continue to drop.</p>
<p>Solar and wind can’t do it all; we found that natural gas – some of it accompanied by technology that captures the carbon emissions released during its combustion – and nuclear power and hydropower can play supporting roles.</p>
<p>Much of the needed emissions reductions – about 10% to 25% – can be achieved through a rapid transition to electric light-duty vehicles along with additional reductions from freight transportation. Our study shows that electric vehicles, which accounted for <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a39998609/ev-sales-turning-point/">about 4% of new car sales</a> in the U.S. in 2021, would need to rise to between 34% and 100% of sales by 2030 to meet that target. That’s a huge jump. But it now appears that <a href="https://www.qad.com/blog/2021/05/why-the-ev-is-now-cheaper-than-an-ice-vehicle">battery costs</a> have fallen enough to allow production of EVs at a cost equivalent to that of conventional vehicles. Moreover, EVs are typically cheaper to operate and maintain, further reducing total ownership costs.</p>
<p><iframe id="jMCwC" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/jMCwC/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>While our study finds that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn0661">most of the needed emission reductions</a> can come from electric power and transportation, other sectors of the economy – including industry, agriculture and buildings – must also shift to low- and zero-carbon energy sources to meet the 2030 goal. The key challenges for these sectors include developing technology to eliminate emissions from energy-intensive processes, such as chemical, iron and steel production, and retrofitting existing homes and businesses with <a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-just-declared-heat-pumps-and-solar-panels-essential-to-national-defense-heres-why-and-the-challenges-ahead-184632">electric heat pumps</a> in a timely manner.</p>
<p>That’s a lot to accomplish in just eight years. It will require an unprecedented buildout of electric power production and transmission capacity, a rapid ramp-up of electric vehicle production and sales, and a nationwide deployment of EV recharging stations.</p>
<h2>Climate and health benefits</h2>
<p>At the same time, by helping to avoid the worst effects of climate change, implementing this road map would reduce the national cost of damage from climate change while encouraging innovation. And significantly reducing air pollution resulting from fossil fuel combustion would also reduce related health costs.</p>
<p>For example, the smog produced by fossil fuel combustion exacerbates asthma and related respiratory diseases, leading to premature deaths. Some of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn0661">six analyses</a> we reviewed found that the reduction in premature deaths – which equate to lost productivity and additional health costs – from reduced fine particulates in the air was by itself enough to offset the cost of implementing the U.S. energy transition road map described in the study.</p>
<h2>Policy options</h2>
<p>Given the scale and pace of the transformations needed to reach the U.S. 2030 climate target, action must be taken immediately and sustained throughout the decade to succeed. Many states have already made strong commitments and implemented policies to achieve them, but a coordinated national strategy is needed.</p>
<p>The six analyses we reviewed assume different combinations of strategies, including tax incentives, subsidies, regulations and carbon pricing. Each approach has its <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/metcalf_web.pdf">pluses and minuses</a>, but any successful policy must focus on affordable and equitable solutions and recognize that one size does not fit all. For example, transportation solutions in rural areas will likely differ from those appropriate in dense urban areas, and new construction may sometimes be more cost-effective than retrofitting older buildings.</p>
<p>The Biden administration’s proposed way forward, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/01/democrats-urge-biden-to-pass-climate-change-part-of-build-back-better.html">Build Back Better plan</a> targeting funding to help communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change and expand clean energy, is stalled in Congress. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Reilly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The road map for a more sustainable future starts with clean energy and fossil-fuel-free transportation.John Reilly, Co-Director Emeritus of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Senior Lecturer Emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.